Forbidden Destiny
by dobrevsdream
Summary: Things are precisely as they should be for vampire hunters Elena and Caroline until mysterious strangers come into town and complicate everything. Will the Elena fall for Damon Salvatore or will the fact that they are from two different worlds tear them apart. There's no such thing as a happy ending, right? AU
1. Chapter 1

"Elena, hold up!" She turned around to see her best friend running after her. She immediately stopped, her face filling with concern and anxiety, she could sense that something was very wrong.

"What's wrong?" she asked moving towards Caroline, whom she had known her whole entire life. They had grown up together, so she had learned to read her like a book.

"You haven't heard? There are new vampires in town, my parents are going crazy. Just when we thought things were settling down," she babbled breathlessly, her eyes blazing with something Elena wasn't sure she could identify.

"What? Has anybody been hurt?"

"No, nobody has been hurt…yet. Thank god. I just—I have a bad feeling about them," she sighed. "I did manage to catch a glimpse of one of them though. Tall, dark hair and baby blue eyes. He was _gorgeous_." She shrugged.

"Caroline! He's a vampire!" Elena exclaimed her eyes wide, had her friend gone completely insane? Vampires were not to be trusted. Things had changed in Mystic Falls, vampires were now allowed to roam freely without the Council killing them, but the price was that they had to feed on blood bags, and they were not to spill any innocent blood. Of course some vampires just turned rogue, but the moment that they did, they were killed. This is where the towns' hunters stepped in. Caroline and Elena were both hunters, descendants of the original hunters, making them the best at what they did.

"So? I didn't say I was going to jump into bed with him," Caroline giggled pulling open the door to the Grill. "I was merely stating that he was hot," she added, to which Elena rolled her eyes and pulled a disgusted face. Caroline pretended to ignore the expression and went to grab them a table while Elena went up to place their order.

"Hey," she grinned walking towards her boyfriend, Matt who worked there. He saw her coming towards him and his face lit up, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her towards him. She placed her hands on his shoulders and smiled. It had been a while since she'd last seen him.

"Hey babe, I wasn't expecting to see you for a few more days. When did you get back from your holiday?" he asked placing a quick kiss on her forehead.

"Yesterday," she admitted with a pang of guilt. "I'm sorry, I know I should have called but I was so tired, and then everything got so crazy," she explained lamely; she wasn't exactly lying, but she wasn't being completely honest either. She had got back yesterday morning, and she'd had multiple opportunities to call him but had chosen not to. It wasn't that she didn't love him anymore, because she did. It was just that something had changed; she had started to notice things about the way she felt. She couldn't explain it, but what she had with Matt didn't feel the way she had always dreamed and thought being in love felt like, which was ridiculous considering she did love him.

"It's okay," he kissed her softly on her lips before releasing her. "I'm assuming you want the usual? Two hot chocolates and a portion of chips?" he asked, and when she nodded he smiled. "Coming right up, babe." He kissed her briefly before disappearing behind the counter to place her order.

"Babe? _Really?_ You're with a jock who calls you babe?" an amused voice commented behind her, she whirled around to find herself face to face with a stranger. She identified him immediately; the dark messy hair, the piercing blue eyes, and the arrogant attitude most vampires usually carried themselves with was evident. Much to her annoyance, she was able to see what Caroline had told her, he was extremely handsome.

"You've got a nerve," she stammered taking a conscious step backwards as their proximity was making her feel nervous and uncomfortable. "You know, what with me being a vampire hunter and all," she added in a whisper ensuring that nobody overheard her.

"What are you going to do? Kill me?" he asked in a mock whisper, his eyes gleaming with amusement. When she opened her mouth, and closed it again his smirk turned into a full arrogant grin. He started walking towards the bar before briefly stopping when he was beside her. He leaned closer to her until his face was inches from hers, for some unknown reason, instead of pushing him away the way she normally would have done, she froze on the spot and held her breath.

"You should probably stop wasting your time with him," he whispered into her. "I don't think he's your type." He added before straightening up and sauntering off, leaving her standing there with both of her fists clenched, breathless with her heart hammering against her chest.


	2. Chapter 2

"We're going out," Jeremy, Elena's little brother called out chucking a cross bow at her the moment she walked in through the door. Her hand flew out, a reflex, catching the weapon with an ease. He had laid out a wide variety of different deadly weapons out on the table ranging from ordinary stakes to vervain darts and grenades.

"Um, where exactly do you think we are going?" She asked placing the cross bow on the table and crossing her arms across her chest. Her brother had been hunting for a few years now, but she still had an urge to protect him.

"There are new vampires in town, and they have been summoned to meet with us so we can lay out the town rules. Nothing violent—," her father explained walking into the room, he stopped in mid-sentence catching a glimpse of all the different weapons his son had prepared. "Jeremy, the plan isn't to go down there with all guns blazing," he chuckled shaking his head.

"I know that. It's just a precaution that's all. If they agree to the terms we give them then great. If not, then there will be a few less monsters in the world," he shrugged shoving a stake into his boot.

"Jeremy, you shouldn't speak with such hatred," Elena sighed shaking her head at her brother. She understood his anger, she also disliked vampires as their mother had been murdered by one but she didn't hate them as passionately as her brother did.

"They killed mom, they deserve everything they get. Come on, we better get going," he grabbed his bag full of weapons and stormed out of the door. Elena turned to face her father who looked after Jeremy with a concerned expression.

"Dad—"

"He's fine Elena; it's his way of dealing with it. Come on honey, let's go," he squeezed her shoulder reassuringly before walking out after Jeremy. Conflicted, Elena grabbed the cross bow and jogged after them.

The car pulled into the middle of the woods where both of the vampires were due to arrive. Elena jumped out of the car and was greeted by the Forbes. She smiled and walked towards Caroline who was standing beside her mother. They briefly hugged and Caroline raised an eyebrow at the cross bow Elena was carrying.

"You came prepared," she chuckled.

"Don't even ask."

"Jeremy?" Caroline asked knowingly.

"Yup, anyway what's the deal with these vampires? How many are there?"

"Two. I think. From what I've heard they are best friends and came together. One of them is an Original—to be honest I'm not even sure I know what that means, besides the fact that he's bound to be more powerful than the ordinary vampires," Caroline explained animatedly, she tended to have a knack for finding out hunter gossip before Elena even heard anything about it, so she often found herself being briefed by Caroline.

"They're here," Jeremy called out under his breath and they all fell silent. Elena immediately spotted the vampire she had met at the bar and felt her stomach tighten at the memory. The other vampire was slightly shorter and he had dirty blonde hair.

"I didn't know that this was a party," the vampire from the bar called out, his eyes scanning them all. When his eyes found Elena's he flashed her a mischievous smile, she felt the blood rush to her face and she instantly broke away from his gaze. Caroline turned to give her a quizzical look which she ignored. For some unknown reason, she hadn't told her about what had happened at the Grill; perhaps it had been because she had been angry at herself for letting him get under her skin, but she wasn't about to make that mistake again. She took a deep breath in and lifted her gaze to meet his and found him still watching her intensely, but instead of turning away the way she normally did, she held his gaze and narrowed her eyes at him. He blinked in surprise and an amused expression crossed across his features.

Caroline's father stepped forwards and started speaking; he explained the rules clearly. The Original vampire, who she learned to be Klaus Mikaelson listened completely expressionless while Damon occasionally turned to catch Elena's eye making her feel uneasy.

"Are we clear?" Elena's father asked after they had briefed the vampires on all the expectations.

"I don't see why we should have a problem," Klaus said with a strong English accent; he stared at Caroline who looked back at him with a blank expression on her face.

"We will behave," Damon, who was the dark haired vampire nodded. "For the most part," he added with a smirk his eyes drifting momentarily to Elena.

"You'd better behave all the time, or there's a stake with your name on it waiting for you," Jeremy snapped moving to stand closer to Elena. The humor dropped from both of the vampires faces as they glanced at him.

"Careful little boy," Klaus snarled. "I could kill you before you even get the chance to blink."

"I'd like to see you try," Elena snapped stepping in front of her brother protectively and raising her cross bow and directing it at his chest.

"Whoa! Slow down, oh warrior princess," Damon said placing both of his hands up in the air in a sign of peace and innocence; she stepped backwards but didn't lower the cross bow.

"Do we have a deal or not, because I really do have other things to do," Caroline asked impatiently. When both of the vampires agreed, the meeting was dismissed.

"What was that?" Caroline asked as the girls walked towards the cars.

"What?" Elena replied pretending to be clueless, she had been dreading having this conversation with Caroline.

"I saw that, you and that vampire—Damon. There was something going on there."

"Are you kidding me?! Caroline, he's a _vampire_."

"I know what I saw, Elena. But I hope for your sake that you know better than to associate yourself with a vampire," Caroline whispered narrowing her eyes at Elena.

"There's nothing going on, I swear. He just makes me feel uneasy," Elena sighed looking at her friend earnestly. She had hoped and prayed that Caroline hadn't noticed anything but of course she had, she knew Elena better than anyone.

"That's because he's a vampire," Caroline smiled briefly. "And I'm glad that there's nothing going on," she added, she gave her a quick hug before retreating to where her family had parked the car.

Elena got into the car and remained silent throughout the whole journey home. What had she been thinking indulging in petty little staring contests with a vampire she thought to herself angrily. She absently tugged at her hair, deep in thought and found herself wondering about when she'd see him again. Dread followed by guilt seeped through her as she realized that she was actually looking forwards to seeing him again. She should be thinking about her boyfriend, Matt, but here she was instead thinking about a _vampire_. She had gone completely insane she concluded. In that moment she decided that she would do everything in her power to never cross paths with Damon Salvatore again. He was a vampire, and vampires had murdered her mother; she was never to befriend one.

**Authors note:** Hey guys, that's the end of Chapter Two. I hope you enjoyed it, please do leave reviews and let me know what you think. I have no idea if anyone is even reading this story so people leaving reviews is always on the reviews I'll decide if this is worth continuing or not. Thanks for reading guys.


	3. Chapter 3

"Jeremy, hold up!" Elena called out after her brother who was racing towards the house. He mumbled something inaudibly as he pulled out his keys. They both stopped simultaneously as they heard a crackling sound behind them. They turned around squinting through the dark to scan their surroundings. Something felt extremely wrong to her. She felt the hairs on her arms stand up and her heart race increased as a shot of adrenaline fired through her body. She swallowed hard as she slowly raised her cross bow. She turned to look at Jeremy and found that he had disappeared.

_"Jeremy_!" she yelled, panicking as a feeling of horror and dread washed over her. Elena who was usually a quick thinker found herself in a state of helplessness. She turned swiftly as she heard a soft movement behind her. Jeremy stood before her again, his eyes wide for a moment as a loud shot fired through the air. Her ears rang and suddenly everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. Her brother looked at his chest in surprise as blood oozed through where the bullet had pierced his chest. He dropped to the ground, his body going limp. Elena's scream seemed to ring through the dark night as she dropped beside her brother, pulling him to her lap and sobbed uncontrollably.

...

...

Elena sat up abruptly; she looked around her and sighed in relief placing a hand on the left side of her chest where her heart lay in an attempt to steady it. She took a deep breath in and wiped the tears from her face. It had just been a dream she told herself jumping out of bed. She walked across the hall to her brothers' room and opened the door to reveal him sleeping soundly in his bed. She smiled to herself momentarily watching him, she had gotten used to seeing him so angry and uptight all the time but now, he looked young and peaceful when he was asleep.

"I think I'm going insane," Elena told her friends dropping beside them on the grass. It was one of the warmest days of summer so they had all planned to meet in the park that afternoon.

"It was a bad dream babe," Matt said pulling her towards him and rubbing her back.

"I know. It's just that it felt so real. I don't know what I would have done If—"

"But it wasn't real. That's all that matters," Caroline interrupted giving her a sympathetic smile; Elena nodded and attempted to smile back. The fact had been that the dream had shaken her up more than she'd expected. Something just didn't feel right to her but she couldn't identify what it was. She managed to relax for the rest of the afternoon as she laughed and caught up with Matt and Caroline. She looked at Matt as he talked a faint smile playing on her lips. She had known him her entire life; she knew every line and aspect of his face. He had these big sincere eyes that were so full of love and admiration when he looked at her, that she couldn't imagine why she had ever even doubted what she had with him.

"What?" he asked stopping in mid-sentence

"Nothing."

"You were staring at me, that wasn't nothing."

"I was just thinking about how much I love you," she admitted leaning towards him and planting a soft kiss on his lips. He froze momentarily, surprised, before kissing her back.

"Oh I'm going to barf. Seriously? Get a room," Caroline mocked her voice filled with amusement. Elena waved at her friend distractedly as she continued to kiss Matt.

"I need to go find the rest room," she breathed after a moment, pulling away from him. "I'll be back." She added grabbing her bag smiling to herself as she headed towards where she knew the Girls bathroom was situated. She had panicked she concluded to herself. She still loved Matt but had let the words of Damon get into her head. She heard soft movement behind her and before she could turn, a hand snaked its way to her mouth covering it as she was grabbed from behind. She elbowed the opponent and when she heard a satisfying yelp of surprise, she kicked back with extreme force and bit down on the hand as hard as she could.

"Slow down, it's me!" the hand left her mouth. She whirled around her eyes wild to find Damon standing there, staring at her with an expression she couldn't quite read in his eyes.

"Are you out of your mind?!" she yelled taking a threatening step towards him; she slammed her hands against his chest, hard, before letting out a breath of relief and leaning against the wall. "Do you just go around grabbing people?" she snapped at him, her anger evident.

"That depends," he smirked. "Do you go around beating and biting anybody who so much as comes near you?"

"That was self-defence. You grabbed me!"

"That was abuse."

"Shut up," she sighed placing her hands on her hips. She had no intention of indulging him in any kind of banter. In fact, wasn't she supposed to be staying as far away from him as humanly possible? "What do you want, Damon."

"Well that depends, Elena. You see, I want lots of things," he said raising his eyebrows at her suggestively.

"Do you just go around flirting with girls you don't even know?" she snapped irritably, he placed his index finger and thumb on his chin in an attempt to appear deep in thought.

"Well that _also_ depends Elena, on whether or not the girls look like you." He concluded finally. To her dismay, she found herself smiling against her will.

"That's it. I'm going," she told him rolling her eyes and turning from him; he swiftly grabbed her arm stopping her abruptly.

"_Wait,_ jokes aside I'm here for a reason," he said all humor draining from his expression; Elena stopped in her tracks sensing his seriousness.

"Elena?" she heard Caroline's voice calling out nearby. She froze on the spot knowing how her friend would react if she saw her mingling with a vampire.

"I have to go," she whispered to Damon desperately.

"Meet me tonight at midnight."

"I don't think so."

"I'm serious, it's important." He narrowed his blue eyes at her waiting for her response. Caroline's footsteps were much closer now, she looked at Damon conflict clear in her eyes.

"Okay. I'll meet you but I'll have to sneak out so it better be good," she hissed turning to check if Caroline was anywhere nearby. "Where?" she asked whirling back around to face him and found herself standing alone.

"There you are," Caroline declared brightly walking towards Elena. "Who were you talking to?" she asked her face creased in confusion.

"Oh, I was just on the phone," Elena lied, her chest tightening. She never thought she would keep things from her best friend, but clearly things had changed.

"Okay, but you will never guess who walked by Matt and I," Caroline said babbling excitedly, linking her arm with Elena's. Elena found her mind drifting back to the conversation she'd had with Damon, what had she let herself in for by agreeing to meet up with a vampire alone?

**Authors note: **I hope you guys enjoy this. Thank you for the reviews guys I really appreciate it as it motivates me to write more. So tell me what you think, if you think I need to improve on some areas. All comments are welcome. Thanks


	4. Chapter 4

Elena paced her room impatiently constantly checking the time. Her hands trembled nervously so she shoved them deep into her pockets as she sat on the edge of her bed. She then got up again and walked to her drawers and pulled out a stake, she looked at it for a moment before placing it back down again; for an unknown reason she couldn't imagine staking Damon. She doubted she'd need protection against him but grabbed a vervain injection anyway shoving it into her jacket pocket. The clock struck midnight and right on cue she heard the rattling sound of rocks hitting her window. She threw them open and found him standing underneath her window with a grin on his face. He wore his usual black leather jacket and dark jeans. His blue eye glistened in the dark as he beckoned her down.

"Slight problem, my dad is downstairs," she whispered praying that her brother next door hadn't heard the rocks.

"So jump down," he shrugged indifferently.

"I can't. I'm human. If I jump down I will most likely break every bone in my body and I for one, like my life," she retorted impatiently carefully ensuring not to mention her fear of heights.

"Jump. I'll catch you," he laughed strolling to stand underneath her window.

"I don't think so."

"Come on, take a chance. Live a little."

"I'd rather not. We will just have to reschedule," Elena told him stubbornly. Damon rolled his eyes and began making clucking noises.

"Fine, I'm a chicken, great. I'm still not going to jump down to my tragic death," she looked down from her window calculating the distance between her bedroom window and the ground and a cold shiver ran down her spine. She silently cursed the fact that the bedrooms were on the third floor in her house.

"What makes you so sure that I won't catch you?" he queried crossing his arms across his chest.

"Because I don't trust you," she admitted. "You don't exactly look like the reliable type."

"In comparison to your goody goody boyfriend, Matt, you mean?" he teased.

"I'm not discussing Matt with you," she scoffed irritated now.

"Okay, don't jump down. You'll never know what I have to tell you, but I assure you that it's important," he shrugged nonchalantly in an attempt to tempt her curious nature.

"Fine, I won't know what you have to tell me. I don't care," She lied gritting her teeth together knowing that it would annoy her until she found out what he had to tell her. He looked at her for a moment with a smile hinting the corner of his lips; he then turned around and started walking away.

"Wait," she hissed shutting her eyes together tightly and when she opened them again she saw him standing with an arrogant grin on his face.

"I'll jump, but if you don't catch me, I swear to god I will kill you."

"I highly doubt it," he laughed. "You'll most likely be in critical care fighting for your life" he added and when he saw the color drain from her face, all traces of amusement left his facial features and walked closer to the house until he was directly beneath her bedroom window. "I won't miss, I promise." He told her sincerely.

She breathed irregularly her heart beating frantically. She pulled on her converse trainers before crawling to the window and sitting at the edge. She looked down, her entire body trembling tremendously.

"I don't think I can do this," she whispered hating how weak she sounded.

"Yes, you can. _Close your eyes_ Elena, and jump." He told her softly. She shut her eyes tightly and jumped down biting on her tongue to ensure that she didn't let out a scream. Her arms flailed as a reflex but she kept her eyes firmly shut until she felt his arms catch her. She opened her eyes slowly and found her face inches from his, close up; his eyes looked even more piercing blue.

"You can breathe out now," he told her softly; she hadn't realised that she had been holding her breath and let out a deep breath of relief. He slowly placed her down on the ground but kept his hands on her waist, steading her.

"That wasn't so bad," she lied plastering a false smile on her face.

"Oh please, tell that to your heartbeat," he chuckled raising an eyebrow at her. She felt very aware of his hands on her waist sending electric shocks all the way through body. Her breath hitched as her eyes locked with his unable to break the gaze. She could smell his scent, wood mixed with a hint of mint. Her heart raced as if she had just ran a marathon. She felt her eyes drawn to his lips and wondered what it would feel like to kiss them, her eyes travelled back to his eyes and found him staring deeply into her eyes. He slowly moved towards her, his eyes fixated on hers when the sound of a dork barking broke the spell making Elena leap away from him. The realisation of what almost happened dawned on her making her feel dizzy and guilty at the same time. She felt the heat rush to her cheeks as she awkwardly tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ears.

"What is it that you had to tell me?" she asked him coughing awkwardly

"Come on, not here," he told her his expression changing to a cold, distant one.

Her mind raced wildly, she had almost let a vampire kiss her and the worst part was that she had _wanted _him to.

...

...

**Authors note**: I thought I'd treat you all and post two chapters tonight as I hadn't updated in a couple of days. Hope you enjoy them, and remember to leave reviews, as like I said - people enjoying the stories are literally the only reason I continue writing this. Does anyone want more of Elena/Matt? I haven't decided how I'm going to handle Klaroline yet, so I may do a few chapters from her POV soon. Basically, please leave comments and opinions.


	5. Chapter 5

"Where are we going?" Elena hissed after they had been walking for what seemed like hours. Her legs ached and she was starting to feel nervous. What had she gotten herself into? Here she was, out in the dark with a vampire and she had nothing apart from a vervain injection to protect herself with. Damon walked ahead of her, unresponsive. He hadn't talked much after the awkward almost-kiss and she was glad, she wasn't even sure what to think of it herself but it was like whenever she was around him, she lost control. She stumbled in the dark on a log that lay and she let out a shrill shriek, Damon was beside her in a flash steading her.

"Are you okay?" his blue eyes glistened in the dark as he looked at her with an expression filled with concern. She stabilised her footing and nodded at him quickly, averting her eyes from his.

"He talks, alert the paparazzi!" She replied brushing past him, she immediately realised what a stupid mistake this was as firstly, she had no idea where they were supposed to be going and secondly, it was pitch black and she could barely see her own hand let alone the path before her.

"Are you being sarcastic with me," he asked his voice filled with amusement and approval, she could both hear and feel him walking closely behind her and every so often when she stumbled, his hand would find her in the dark and steady her.

"Listen Damon, I'm just going to cut the crap and be honest with you. I don't know what you want. I'm tired and it's been a really long night and honestly? There's a bed out there calling my name and I'd like to sleep in it. So either you tell me what you want right now, or I swear to god I will walk out this instant."

"Speaking of a bed calling your name—" he began mischief gleaming in his eyes.

"Don't even start," she warned narrowing her eyes at him. She wasn't in the mood for his flirty little comments.

"You need to leave town Elena," was all he said finally, his voice empty of any form of emotion.

"Excuse me?"

"You're not safe here. There are people looking for you, _vampires_ and they're getting closer to Mystic Falls. You need to leave."

Elena's chest tightened as she was gripped by a feeling of fear and terror mixed with confusion. Where had all of this come from? "I don't understand—what are you even talking about? Who is looking for me?"

"I don't know what they want with you; all I know is that there is a powerful female vampire who needs you for something. I've heard about her Elena and she won't stop until she gets what she wants," for a moment she thought she saw a look of worry cross his eyes, but it disappeared as fast as it had arrived and she concluded that she had imagined it.

Unable to say anything, she gaped at him her eyebrows furrowed. It was all happening way too fast. Who was this vampire and what did she want with her?

"Thank you for the warning Damon, but I can't just go. My family is here."

"You. Need. To. Leave. Town." He stepped closer to her with each word until she could feel his body against hers.

Her breath faltered as she raised her chin to meet his gaze. She looked defiantly into his eyes and uttered one word. "No."

A dangerous look flashed across his eyes as his face contorted with rage. He ran his hand through his hair and closed his eyes in exasperation. "So you're just going to wait around and get yourself killed?"

"You should know that I'm not going to leave my family, but then again you don't know me at all do you? You're just a stranger, for all I know you could be lying," she regretted adding the last part as she was him flinch like she'd slapped him, his eyes darkened as he gave her a coolly look.

"Fine, don't believe me. You can just sit around waiting for her to come and kill you. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"I can handle myself," she lied because she wasn't about to admit that she could feel the fear paralyzing her.

"No, you really can't. Not against the most powerful vampire anyway," he sighed dropping his hands from his face and looking at her with a conflicted expression. "But I can help you to learn how to protect yourself."

"You want to teach me self-defence?" she asked dubiously.

"I guess, it's better than nothing," he shrugged.

"What am I supposed to tell my dad or Caroline or _Matt_ when they ask me what I'm doing hanging out with a vampire? I can't lie to them, Damon."

"I'm not asking you to. Tell them the truth, if they know, they can be prepared to protect you."

She gaped at him for a moment and realised that he was being deadly serious. "Are you insane? I can't tell my dad, he would go insane with worry—and then there's Jeremy. I mean he's barely holding it together, if he thought for even one second that he could lose me it would destroy him," Elena began pacing, her fingers trembling in panic as the reality of it all came crashing down on her._ If _what he was telling her was the truth, and someone very powerful was after her, what could any of them do to stop it? Could she trust Damon, who in all honesty was a complete stranger to her; she was drawn to him for a reason that she couldn't identify but regardless, that didn't make him trustworthy.

"Listen to me," his expression softened as he noticed her fear; he stepped forwards and took both of her trembling hands into his own. "Nothing bad will happen to you. Not while I'm alive anyway," he added the last part absently as if he was speaking to himself rather than to her.

"Why do you even care? About me, I mean," she whispered not removing her hands from his; instead she looked into his eyes which were filled with something she couldn't recognize. He dropped her hands and stepped away from her hastily and to her surprise, Elena felt a pang of hurt surge through her.

"I have my reasons for wanting you alive," he told her his voice free of any emotion; he had averted his eyes from hers and was now looking everywhere but at her. "Do we have a deal or not?"

"I'm in." She agreed. If someone was after her, she would be ready for them when they came. She was a _fighter_, and if she was going to go down, she would sure as hell go down kicking and screaming until the very end.

**Authors note**: Big apology to you all for several reasons. Firstly, for my lack of updates the past few days. I've been ill and super busy with University work, but I will make it up to you guys at some point with a nice long chapter(s). Second apology is for this crappy chapter. I know it's not up to scratch but I just wanted to at the very least post something for you all. The next chapter will a) be better (hopefully) and b) contain Klaroline as we take things into Caroline's perspective (I like to make things difficult for myself clearly). Adios!


	6. Chapter 6

A rush of cold water came washing down on Elena, forcefully pulling her out of her dream. She took a quick intake of breath as she sharply sat upright in her bed. She wiped the icy cold water from her face and turned to look at her offender her eyes gleaming with rage.

"Rise and shine sleepyhead!" Damon stood at the foot of her bed dressed in dark jeans that hung dangerously low on his waist and a black t-shirt that clung to his biceps. He had his usual smug grin on his face as he cocked his head to the side and watched her as she spluttered and wiped her face dry.

"What do you think you're doing!" She snapped furiously as she pulled her bed covers up to her neck, she wasn't comfortable with him seeing her wearing a tank top and short shorts.

"Oh don't be such a prude. And if you must know, I tried to wake you up five minutes ago," He retorted casually ignoring her fury. "When that didn't work, I figured I'd take a more hands on approach."

"Wait until I show you just how hands on I can be," she threatened; she was completely soaked, and now shivering.

"_Elena!_ Are you _flirting_ with me?"

"Get out!" she yelled snatching her hairbrush from her bedside table and chucking it at him with all of her strength. He ducked neatly as it whipped past him smashing into the door with a loud bang. He turned to look at where the brush had landed. Noticing that the force of her throw had caused a large chunk of paint to be chipped from the door the brush hit, he turned back to face her, his eyes wide with surprise and approval.

"Well I'm impressed. I don't think you need any training when it comes to using your weapons."

"I'm a hunter, Damon. I can take down any vampire who comes at me as long as I have my weapons," she told him rolling her eyes. Realising that he wasn't about to leave the room she started clambering out of her bed whilst keeping her sheet wrapped tightly around her. She already regretted inviting him into her house, what had she been thinking? He was an unstable maniac who now had free access to her house. The thought of anyone hurting the people she cares about had frightened her into agreeing to anything.

"They know who you are, that's why they'll strike you at your weakest which is when you're alone and defenceless. Trust me, I know how they operate." He grabbed a photograph of her and Matt from the top of her wardrobe and examined it before pulling a disgusted face.

"So I'll just start to carry my weapons with me," she retorted snatching the picture from him and brushing past him to get to her wardrobe. She knew that he had a point, the chances were that they knew how skilful she was at hunting vampires, but if they got to her when she wasn't carrying any of the appropriate weapons, she would be at a disadvantage; that's how her mother, who was one of the best living hunters was murdered. Elena new that she was strong, but not that strong.._yet_. Vampire hunters travelled in packs, they hunted in groups of three at the minimum, and they relied heavily upon their weapons. That's where Damon came in; he would train her how to defend herself without any weapons so if they struck when she was unarmed, she would still have the chance of survival. She placed the photograph of her and Matt where it had been and started shuffling through her clothes whilst keeping one hand firmly on the sheet covering her. She pulled out a pair of joggers and a black t-shirt, throwing them onto her bed.

"Don't be naïve, it won't be that easy," Damon told her throwing himself onto her now vacant bed. She glared at him signalling him to get up and leave her to get dressed and when he ignored her, she sighed irritably and grabbed her clothes off the bed and turned to walk into the bathroom to get changed.

"Oh no, you can get changed here. Don't let me stop you," he called out after her, his voice forging innocence.

"Don't make me regret agreeing to this," she called out to him as she headed for the bathroom; she heard his soft chuckle as she closed the door. She paused for a moment, leaning her back against the bathroom door. Damon was bad news, with a capital "B", she knew that much; but she was also knew that she needed him to teach her what she needed to know about these people.

"I don't hear any movement in there! Chop, chop! I haven't got all day you know," he called out his voice filled with humor.

Sighing heavily, she stood up started to get dressed. She would end up killing him, she concluded. She was sure of it.

**Authors note**: Sorry, I know that the next update was supposed to be Klaroline but there's been some confusion about why Elena, who is a vampire hunter needed to be taught self-defence. I didn't explain it properly in the last chapter (apologies), but I hope this clears it up for you. Just to add: this story is mainly Delena, there will be some Klaroline but the focus is on the relationship between Elena and Damon. We will explore what Damon's agenda is/if he has one and whether or not his intentions are good. Anyhow, I'll try updating the Klaroline in the next few days, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please do leave reviews, motivate me to hurry and write more for you all. Thanks for sticking with this and reading on. Toodles!


	7. Chapter 7

**Caroline's POV:**

Caroline silently cursed herself for agreeing to accompany her mother to the Annual Art Gallery display as she watched her mother having an animated discussion with people she didn't recognize. She swivelled in her chair her facial expression projecting the depth of her boredom. She fidgeted, plastering a false smile on her face every time the customers looked in her direction. Caroline sat up abruptly her sixth sense confirming to her that there was a vampire nearby; she looked up to see Klaus walk into the gallery. Her brow creased, her expression conveying a mixture of confusion and anxiety. What was he doing here? He looked up at her and flashed her a dazzling smile that rocked her back on her heels, okay so he was attractive. To her dismay, she saw him sauntering towards her and her body immediately transferred itself to her hunter mode. Her posture straightened, her eyes focused on him alone and she placed her hand protectively over her bag which contained a stake.

"Calm down sweetheart, I don't mean no harm," he cooed raising both of his arms up in a sign of peace.

"What are you doing here, _vampire_?" She asked narrowing her eyes at him her hand still grasping her bag ready for a fight if required.

"Klaus Mikaelson," he corrected her, an expression of fury passing over his features briefly.

"You haven't answered my question."

"I'm here to see the art, just like everybody else," he told her sincerely.

She raised an eyebrow, surprised – she hadn't really thought about what vampires did in their spare time. She always just thought of them as murdering creatures. "Oh…" was all she managed to get out, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

"And what are you doing here? Let me guess, you were forced to attend?"

"Guilty as charged," she admitted reluctantly, she didn't exactly want to stand here, chatting with a vampire but what better options did she have. The other option was to sit and sulk in dire boredom. "What gave me away?"

"You looked miserable," he shrugged nonchalantly, his eyes travelled to a group of people at the back of the gallery admiring a large piece of art.

"It's beautiful," she admitted looking at the painted landscape before her.

"Thank you." When she looked confused, he let out a short laugh, explaining. "It's my art."

Her mouth dropped open in surprise as she looked at the painting again. "I didn't know that vampires—" she began but then stopped herself short knowing how stupid the sentence would sound.

"You didn't know that vampires did anything besides kill people?" he asked his tone cold.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean—" she started apologetically but then stopped herself. Why exactly was she being nice to this stranger? She didn't owe him anything. "Actually you know what? I'm not sorry. I've heard about you _Klaus Mikaelson_, the most hated of the Original vampires. You're a monster who has murdered a thousand of innocent people, so you can drop the whole lonely painter guy act. It's not going to work," she hissed.

"Careful love, you don't want to get on my bad side," was all he said before brushing past her.

…

…

"Yes mom, I've closed up. I'm on my way home now," she said craning her neck as she balanced the phone between her ear and shoulder. Her mother had left the gallery early to attend a Council meeting, leaving her in charge of closing up the place. She hung up the phone, checking that the doors were locked before starting her path to where her car was parked around the block. As she rounded the corner she noticed a group of men, much older than she was stumbling out of a bar. She nervously ducked her head hoping that it would make her invisible as she passed them, but they spotted her almost instantaneously and blocked the path to the car park.

"Well hello there gorgeous," one of the slurred, he swayed, clearly unstable on his feet.

"Get out of my way," she told him sharply attempting to side step him when another one came up behind her and pulled her back.

"Not so fast Blondie."

"Get out of my way, or I swear to god I will hurt you."

This just made them laugh hysterically as they sized her up; their hungry eyes scanning every inch of her body making her feel disgusting and cheap. She was very aware of her ability to knock them unconscious, but she was also outnumbered by them.

"I think the lady told you to back off," a voice called out coolly, the English accent very evident.

This just made them laugh all the more louder. She turned to see Klaus walking up behind her his face illuminated by the moonlight

"What are you going to do tough guy?!"

With a swift movement, he was standing directly in front of the men; their eyes widened in surprise as they acknowledged the speed of his movement. One of the men stepped up, throwing a punch — Klaus grabbed the fist casually, crushing it at the palm of his hands. The man dropped to his knees, screaming in anguish and the others immediately backed away.

"Hey, we don't want any trouble man…"

"Stop it!" Caroline snapped at Klaus and he dropped the fist, dusting his hands as if nothing had happened. The men helped up their friend and scurried away from them their eyes wide with fear and panic.

"You're welcome."

"I could have handled them and you know it. What were you thinking exposing yourself like that?!"

"Oh please, they're drunk—they'll probably wake up thinking that they'd imagined it all. Am I going to get a thank you?"

When she remained silent, he smirked at her shaking his head slightly.

"Stubborn little thing aren't you. I'll see you around Caroline," and with that he disappeared leaving her standing alone in the deserted street.

**Authors note: **This is the first time I'm writing for Klaroline so bear with me, I've no idea if it works or not. Tell me what you think, do you want more from Caroline's POV or would you rather I stick to Elena's POV? Ps. I'm feeling generous today, I may post a Delena chapter in a moment as I have been struck by inspiration. Leave reviews, tell me what you think


	8. Chapter 8

Elena's POV (Two months later):

Elena collapsed on the grass in the middle of the forest, she struggled to catch a breath as her chest heaved up and down. She could feel her throat burning, that horrible feeling you get when you've ran too much.

"Get up," Damon told her sternly standing over her with an bemused expression on his face. She groaned unable to find the strength to argue with him and rolled over turning away from him. He crouched beside her and offered her a towel which she took graciously. He laid down on the grass beside her facing the bright blue sky.

"You're letting me off?" She gasped the cold air cooling down the burning feeling in her trachea. "Careful Damon, I think you're going soft."

"Don't tempt me to make you do another lap," he threatened, shutting her up. She knew how serious he was being from past experience.

They remained as they were for a beat or two, her sprawled on the grass fighting for air and him lying beside her on his back, his arms folded neatly behind his head with his eyes closed. She watched him curiously; he looked different — beautifully peaceful. His hair, dark as the midnight gleamed under the sunlight, she noticed that he wore it longer than he used to. She was surprised by her ability to notice the small changes in him now, but it was expected as they spent a lot of time together training.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked bravely, he opened his eyes and turned his head to face her.

"You want to see me naked?" he guessed.

"Stop it; can't you be serious for like five minutes?"

"Okay. What is it that you want to know?" He watched her intently, his blue eyes searching hers.

"Anything," she admitted lamely. "I've known you for a while now, but I still feel like I don't _know_…know you."

"I'm going to need a less vague answer on that."

"I want to know everything and anything. For example, do you have any siblings?"

"A brother, but he and I are estranged. I haven't seen him since I turned." His voice was factual and lacked any hint of emotion. I need to dig a little deeper she figured.

"You don't miss him?"

"Nope."

"How did you and Klaus meet?"

"We met in the 20's when he saved my life, long story."

Knowing she wouldn't be able to pull anything out of him she sighed heaving and shifted to lay on her side, her body facing his.

"You're not giving me elaborate answers."

"You didn't specify on the kind of answers you wanted, Elena. Ding, ding ding! Your five minutes of question and answer time is up. Let's go," he jumped to his feet and offered her his hand to haul her up. Rolling her eyes she placed her hand delicately in his and allowed him to pull her to her feet. They stood close to one another, not saying much. She brushed past him awkwardly and started jogging.

"Come on then, let's train!" she called out to him before breaking into a sprint.

The following day, they finished their training session slightly early as they were greeted by a thunderous sky shadowed by dark clouds. She wiped her face with a towel grabbing her water bottle when she felt rain sprinkling down on her skin.

"Dammit," she sighed looking up at the sky. "We're going to be caught in the thunder storm. Do you see how much this training inconveniences me?"

"Yes, completely. I understand how getting stuck in the rain is much more serious than learning to protect your own life," he told her sarcastically pulling out car keys from his back pocket.

She pulled a face at him behind his back, aware of how childish this made her, before dragging her feet after him. She got into the passenger seat of his car and buckled up her seatbelt. The drive back would approximately take them thirty minutes as they met up somewhere far away from Mystic Falls to exclude the threat of someone they knew walking into them. She silently watched through the window as it begun raining heavily, her mind drifting to her inner demons. Could she trust Damon? Over the past months, she had grown fonder of him. Well she had learned to not want to kill him all the time anyway which was progress. Things with Matt however had become much more strained, she had begun avoiding him. The guilt was driving her insane, how could she look at him in the eyes and tell him that she had almost kissed another guy. The betrayal would cut him deep; she didn't want to hurt him. On the other hand, she could no longer ignore this fire between Damon and her; she could feel it burning up inside of her every time she was within his vicinity. He was a vampire, how could she feel that way about him — she asked herself angrily.

"Can I trust you?" she blurted out, he turned to look at her quizzically but didn't reply. "I said, can I trust you."

"You tell me," he grinned, but it appeared forced.

"Don't do that; don't turn this into a joke. Truth is that I'm going insane with worry. I don't know anything about you."

"I answered the questions you had," he replied his voice calm and calculated. He had averted his eyes to look at the road ahead of them.

"No, you didn't. You gave me the absolute minimal that you could!" She snapped feeling surprisingly angry. She hadn't expected things to turn into an argument but she could feel that they were heading for a rocky path. He drove silently, unresponsive, his eyes locked on the windscreen.

"What's your agenda? Why are you helping me?" she whispered chewing on her lower lip. There, she'd said it. She had asked the question that had been burning a hole at the back of her mind for weeks. Here she was, lying to her family and friends, trusting him with her life and he couldn't even give her a simple answer.

"I'm not doing this for you if that's what you're asking. I have my own reasons, but they're none of your business," he told her harshly as the car stopped at a red light.

"None of my business?! I have put my life in _your _hands you arrogant dick!" She hissed before pulling the door open and jumping out of the stationary vehicle into the pouring rain.

"Are you insane? Elena, _get in the car_." He looked at her narrowing his eyes. She slammed the door shut and began walking quickly down the deserted sidewalk. Damon drove slowly beside her, matching her pace. He lowered the window and called out her name. Completely soaked through, she dug her hands deep into her pocket, and then increased her pace turning a quick corner into a narrow alleyway. She shivered against the cold, her long brown hair plastered against her face. She heard the sound of a car door being slammed and Damon swearing in exasperation. She began jogging unaware of where she was going, anywhere where he couldn't follow her was the basic idea. Elena was mainly furious at herself for letting him get under her skin. Damon zoomed in front of her stopping her in her tracks as he blocked her path. She made a move to dodge him but he grabbed at her arm holding her still.

He stood, not caring that the rain was soaking him through; his hair, like hers clung to his head. His blue eyes turned soft as he locked eyes with hers. "I'm sorry."

"Let go of me," she hissed her voice loudly carrying through the rain, she managed to shake him off but as she started walking away, he caught a hold of her left arm and swung her around to face him.

"I didn't mean what I said. Look Elena, I'm no good. I'm trouble, you're probably better off hating me," he told her gently his hands still holding her firmly in front of him. This was the first time he had shown her any form of emotion or vulnerability, gone was all the humor and arrogance. He looked at her so intensely she could feel his eyes burning through her. She stopped struggling against him, knowing it'd be hopeless.

"You don't understand how much I'm risking. I've put my faith in _you _despite all of my instincts telling me to run in the opposite direction. I'm trusting you, but I can't do that knowing that there's a chance that you may screw me over. I can't look at my _boyfriend _in the face anymore because all I feel is self-hatred and guilt over the feelings I have when I'm around you so yes, Damon. I do hate you," she spoke the words with clarity, forcing them out before she could back out. A thunder ripped through the sky, illuminating them in the deserted alleyway. "I hate myself for walking into the Grill that day and bumping into you, I hate you for making me second guess my relationship with Matt. I hate you—"

She was silenced by Damon, who hooked his fingers on the waistband of her jeans and pulled her towards him until her body was against his. He lifted her chin with the tip of his fingers as his lips came crashing down on hers pushing her closer towards him. She froze for a nanosecond before her body responding and intertwining with his. The only thing between them was their thin wet shirts that clung to their bodies not providing much of a barrier; she could feel the heat radiating from his body as she placed her hands around his neck forcing his mouth against hers. He placed his arms on her waist and pushed her backwards until her back was against the concrete wall. His lips travelled to her neck, trailing soft kissed along her collarbone. She trembled under his touch, feeling both weak and empowered. She tugged at his hair as his lips found hers again, exploring her mouth. She took a sharp intake of breath when he slowly nibbled on her lower lip, tugging at it playfully with his teeth. The feeling of his touch was electrifying, but _wrong_.

She pushed him away placing a hand on his chest to prevent him from coming towards her as the reality of their situation came crashing down on her like a ton of bricks. _Matt. _She breathed heavily her heart hammering against her chest, Damon looked at her his eyes dark with desire and confusion.

"We can't," she breathed shaking her head.

"Because I'm a vampire?" He asked his tone taking a cold edge.

"No! _Yes_—I don't know. I'm sorry." She stammered lamely pushing wet hair out of her face. She had cheated on Matt, a cold shiver ran through her body, and not because of the cold.

"I'll drive you home." Was all he said before retreating back to where his car was park. She silently walked after him her heart racing. They both remained silent throughout the entire journey, the air between them crackling with tension. Whatever this was, it wasn't anything she had ever felt before and it scared her senseless.

**Authors note:** Quickly whizzed up this chapter before jumping into my lovely bed. You know the drill, leave me comments and I will be forced to update asap. Rant,scream. Was Elena wrong for kissing Damon back whilst still in a relationship? Tell me what you like, tell me what you don't like. I'm here for feedback! Until next time guys!


	9. Chapter 9

"What happened to you?" Jeremy laughed from the dinner table as he was greeted with the sight of Elena stumbling into the house drenched. Her hair was wild and damp from the rain; she felt a shiver go through her body but was unable to feel cold due to the numb feeling that had spread through her body after the kiss. What had she done? Without answering her brother, she ran in to her bedroom, throwing herself onto her bed. She screamed into her pillow in frustration thrashing at the pillow before rolling onto her back and staring at the ceiling. _I have to break up with Matt _she concluded, there was no way she could keep him in the dark any longer, and the guilt was eating her up. What had possessed her to kiss Damon she thought to herself, _well _technically he had kissed her but she hadn't exactly stopped him. She had become what she hated, a cheater. She made an impulsive decision in that moment, groaning as she pulled herself to her feet she drew out her phone and sent out a message before running herself a quick shower.

…..

…..

"Hey," she said smiling nervously at Matt who had just opened the front door to his house. He pulled her closer for a kiss, and gave her an anxious, querying look when she firmly placed a hand on his chest to stop him. "We need to talk."

He let her go immediately and stepped aside to let her in. She settled herself on the couch opposite him, awkwardly fumbling with the pillows.

"Elena, what's going on?" his watched her, his eyes filled with concern, tightening the clenching feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had ruined everything.

"I kissed someone else," she forced the words out before she could change her mind. There was a moment of silence as she watched Matt's face change as he experienced a million different emotions right in front of her, his expression varied from confusion to rage to helplessness. Unable to even look at him in the eyes she lowered her gaze to her hands which she had knotted together awkwardly.

"Who?" he whispered, she could tell that it took a lot of effort to keep his voice calm.

"Nobody that you know, I just—I don't know why it happened. I don't know what to tell you," she mumbled lamely.

"You don't know why it happened? You're telling me that you threw away everything that you and I had for nothing?" he yelled, anger evident in his voice, Elena raised her gaze to meet his knowing she owed him at least an explanation, but she was incapable of providing him with one. He got up and paced around the room, pushing his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Matt—" she got to her feet reaching out for him when he shoved her away and raised a singular hand to ward her off.

"**Don't touch me**— I can't even look at you right now," he snapped furiously, his eyes had glossed over with unshed tears.

"_I'm so sorry_," she whispered her voice trembling as a singular tear rolled down her cheek. She had never seen him so angry, this was Matt!

"Do you love him?"

"No!" she told him attempting to move towards him again but stopped in her tracks when he backed away from her.

"So then what, it was just a random kiss?" he asked narrowing his eyes at her. Elena squirmed slightly knowing that what had happened with Damon was anything but random. "You do love him, don't you?"

"I don't love him Matt, I swear," and she was telling the truth, I mean how could she? She didn't even know Damon well enough to love him. The kiss had been a mistake she told herself, a mistake she would regret for the rest of her life.

He breathed out in relief dragging his hands across his face, she hadn't realised that he had been holding his breath. "Then who was he?"

"It doesn't _matter_, you don't know him."

"You look at me in the eye right now Elena and tell me that the kiss meant nothing," his eyes were almost pleading, she knew what he wanted her to say, but to her horror she froze unable to get the words out. She opened her mouth before closing it again; telling him that the kiss meant nothing would be a lie she realised with a surprising thump in her chest. It had meant something, but she couldn't figure out exactly what it was; kissing Damon had been scary but exciting at the same time. Terrifying yet all-consuming and passionate, she'd never been kissed like that_. She had never felt that way before. _

His face hardened with sudden realisation, her silence had told him everything he had needed to know. "Get out."

"Matt—please let me explain!" she cried attempting to reach out for him as the tears welled up in his eyes.

He grabbed at her hands and pulled her closer to him. "Get out, and don't you come back. Do you understand me?" he whispered slowly his voice raw with emotion and pain before pushing her away. She stared at him momentarily, helpless before running out through the door into the cold night.

...

...

**Authors note**: Ya'll know the drill, review and leave comments.


	10. Chapter 10

A rush of cold air greeted Elena the moment she stepped out into the dark night, taking a deep breath in she hugged her jacket closer to herself in order to keep warm. She wandered the streets for what must have been hours before she found herself exactly where she had began; cold, alone and metaphorically lost. She found a deserted staircase of a building, sitting down she wiper her eyes dry her breath hitching from all the crying. Exhausted she sat for a while wondering whether or not she should call Caroline, she didn't exactly feel like being alone right now. She pulled out her phone her whole body shuddering with a sob as she dismissed the phone, she couldn't call her friend and tell her what she'd done.

A loud clatter made her jump as a few people started stumbling out of the bar around the corner, she turned away trying to distract any attention from herself. A group of guys singing loudly walked past towards the adjacent street. Recognizing his voice, her head snapped up towards the group until her eyes found his. He had his arm slung over the shoulder of his vampire friend, Klaus. He averted his gaze from hers and continued to walk past her. Gritting her teeth, Elena fought to keep herslef together. _I will not cry in front of him _she thought to herself angrily, her bottom lip quievering. Just before making the turn to the next street, Damon detatched himself from Klaus, whispering something to the guys who turned back to look at Elena before shrugging nonchalantly and walking away. Damon walked towards her, stopping only when he was directly in front of her. He slowly crouched down beside her and when she kept her gaze on the ground beside her feet, he placed his index finger on her chin lifting it up so that she was looking at him in the eye.

His facial expression softened, he knew she had been crying she concluded. "What's the matter?" he asked her his voice soft as velvet, there was something in it that had never been there before. It lacked humor and playfulness.

"Nothing," she lied plastering the best smile she could muster. "I'm fine, just tired."

"You're lying. I can tell that you've been crying, Elena. The runny nose, the glassy eyes and the red cheeks are a dead give away," he told her warmly keeping his fingers under her chin.

She turned away from him slightly forcing his fingers to drop, she took a slow deep breath in knowing it'd be useless to pretend that she hadn't been sobbing her heart out.

"I don't need your pity."

"_Good_, because you're not gonna get it. Pity is reserved for those who actually deserve it, not for short girls with a sharp tongue."

Elena couldn't help herself, she felt a genuine smile play on her lips despite herself. "Hey, I'm not that short!"

"Whatever makes you sleep through the night honey," he shrugged playfully smiling back at her. "I wouldn't want to say anything hurtful tonight. You never know, you may start the water works again. You girls are _so emotional_."

This time Elena threw her head back and laughed out loud her shoulders shaking, it was a good feeling she realized. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this calm and carefree, despite the recent disaster.

"Thank you," she told him after a beat forcing herself to look into his bright blue eyes.

"What can I tell you? I'm a sucker for an emotional mess," he got up dusting his hands on his jeans.

"Shut up," she retorted her tone friendly as she wiped her face with the back of her hands.

"You're welcome," he nodded after a moment his voice serious and sincere. "Come on, I'll walk you home."

"No, you're okay," she told him quickly. She wasn't ready to go home yet, Jeremy most likely would have heard the news by now, he was friends with Matt after-all. "But you go, I won't stay here for much longer anyway."

He gave her a long incredulous look. "If you think I'm leaving you here alone you're insane. Someone could come along and kidnap you or something. Then you'd really have something to cry about."

He came over and sat on the step beside her bumping her shoulder softly with his own. She gave him a quick smile, silently grateful for his thought of sitting alone feeling sorry for herself wasn't exactly inviting. Not to mention the fact that she always had a good time when she was around him, she was surprised to find that he was able to make her laugh even when her whole life was tumbling down around her. She thought back to the day she'd met him, how angry his arrogance and constant snarky comments had made her, now she realized that they were just a part of who he was_—_ she had in fact grown quite fond of him she realized, startled. She didn't hate him she concluded thinking back to how she'd yelled at him furiously in the rain, in that moment yes, she'd meant it but now? She didn't hate anything about the way she felt around him. Whatever it was, it scared her half to death as it felt like she was plummeting into the unknown but there was no hatred for who he was and how much had changed because of him. She never thought she'd be sitting this close to a vampire without having the innate instinct to stake them, who would have thought that she'd find herself being friends with a vampire? Dismissing her thoughts about him, she let her mind drift onto other things. They sat like that for a very long time, side by side, not talking. She didn't want to tell him what had happened with Matt and he didn't ask, she was very grateful for that. He just sat with her whilst she mulled over the events of that night, but surprisingly for the first time in a long while, she felt completely at peace.

* * *

**Authors note:** Hola! Updates two days in a row, I'm totally spoiling you guys ;) I hope you like this Chapter, do let me know what you think. I just thought I'd give you all a nice Damon and Elena scene without any drama before things go up in flames mwa-ha-ha! (I kid you of course...or not). Anyway, you know how happy reviews make me so do leave some :)) I shall update next week with one or perhaps two chapters if I'm feeling generous. Toodles xo


	11. Chapter 11

The moment Caroline stormed in through the doors of the library; Elena knew what was in store for her. She groaned inwardly bracing herself for what was about to come. She watched Caroline's eyes scan the room until they landed on Elena, narrowing them fiercely she made a bee-line towards her, dropping herself into the vacant seat beside her friend.

"You broke up with Matt?!" she exclaimed loudly, leading to a few people around them to throw them a curious glance.

"Shh!" the librarian hissed.

"Sorry," Caroline told her apologetically before turning back to Elena again. "Have you gone completely insane?"

"Caroline, please. Don't start."

"I just can't believe that you didn't even tell me, I mean I had to find out from Matt!"

"I didn't tell you because I was ashamed. I cheated on my boyfriend, that's not exactly something I want to shout from the roof tops."

"But I'm your best friend, if you can't talk about it with me, who can you talk about it with?"

"I just—lately I feel like I don't even know who I am," she admitted lamely dropping her pen onto her unwritten notepad.

"You're Elena Gilbert. You're strong, your kind, you're caring and gorgeous. You're also a big pain in the ass—ouch!" she yelped as Elena lay a punch on her upper arm, they both turned around to check if they had yet again caught the attention of the scowling librarian but were glad to see her nowhere in sight.

"I've missed you," Elena admitted placing an arm on Caroline's wrist. For the past few months, she had felt drawn away from her friends. Like there was a big divide between their worlds, but she realised now that it had all been in her head. Caroline had been beside her just the way she always was, she had just been too blind to realise it.

"I was never gone."

"I know," Elena replied biting her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Can you sleep over tonight?"

"Yes of course, I'll just tell—"Caroline's words cut off as she stared at the two figures approaching them darkly. Elena's heart leaped in her chest at the sight of Damon with his dark tousled hair, wearing jeans that hung dangerously low on his hips and a snug black shirt that hugged his muscles in all the right places. Averting her gaze in a manner she hoped was nonchalant she picked up her pen and pretended to be concentrating on her history essay.

"Well, well, what a pleasant surprise," Klaus told them cheerily dropping into a seat on their table, opposite from Caroline.

"What an unpleasant surprise from my perspective," Caroline retorted her tone blunt.

Appearing unaffected, he flashed her a dazzling smile whilst placing a hand on the left side of his chest where his heart lay. "Ouch."

"Why don't you two stop antagonizing each other?" Damon asked dropping into the seat beside Elena giving her a friendly nod. Suddenly feeling very aware of her every movement, she tucked her hair behind her ear giving him a shy smile.

"What do you two want?" Caroline retorted directing the question at Klaus who looked relaxed with his hands behind his head.

"Depends on what's on offer love," he told her with a wolfish grin, Elena watched her friends eyes flare with anger but she also noticed the colour in her cheeks. She was blushing!

"Go away."

"It's a public library sweetheart."

"I said _go away_!"

"Silence!" the librarian snapped narrowing her eyes at Caroline and Klaus; whilst Caroline sported an embarrassed and an apologetic look—Klaus merely grinned and raised both of his hands to the level of his shoulders showing his innocence before pointing at Caroline and mouthing "It's all her." He jolted upwards in his seat before narrowing his eyes at Caroline, she must have kicked him under the table Elena realised.

"Both of you shut up," Elena finally piped in shaking her head at them. "I have an assignment that is due tomorrow, and so far I have written about zero words. So if you could take this little party elsewhere that'd be great."

"You still haven't done the essay?! You can't fail this module otherwise they won't let you complete the course" Caroline gasped her eyes widening making Elena feel even more anxious. She was usually an A grade student, she never let things slip but these past few months things had gotten way out of control.

"She's not going to fail," Damon told Caroline coolly the tone of his voice confident. "That's where I come in."

"You…are offering me help with doing my assignment?" Elena questioned incredulously unable to believe her ears. When she had texted him earlier explaining why she couldn't make the training, it had never even crossed her mind to ask him for help which was crazy since the topic was history.

"Nothing in this world comes for free, you will owe me big time." He stretched his long legs in front of him watching her with a playful expression. It surprised her to think how close she'd grown to him in the past few days. Previously, she would have rather died than accept his offer but things had changed.

"Deal."

"Elena are you insane—I don't like this," Caroline hissed with a worried expression on her features.

"Why? Because we're the big bad vampires?" Klaus mocked but for the first time Elena noticed a hint of annoyance in his eyes.

"Yes!" Caroline retorted just as irritated.

"Is there a problem here?" they all turned around to find the librarian standing behind them, her arm crossed with a stern look on her face.

"Um….no. We're sorry—"

"Save your apologies Miss Forbes, I've heard enough. Last chance before I kick you all out," and with that she stormed away angrily.

"Get out, both of you," Damon told them firmly.

"Excuse me?"

"Caroline, he's right. I just need to get this done then I'll be home. I'll see you there I swear," Elena gave her friend an apologetic look feeling disloyal.

Caroline widened her eyes at her friend momentarily as if to yell "You can't stay alone with this monster" but when Elena gave her a nod, she started retrieving her stuff uncertainly, Klaus also pulled himself lazily to his feet stretching his arms out as his eyes followed Caroline. She came towards Elena giving her a quick hug before whispering. "Call me if you need me," and with that her friend flounced away with Klaus quick on tail.


	12. Chapter 12

"Done!" Elena finally exclaimed happily slamming her pen onto the table after writing a couple of thousand words.

"You took your time," he replied snapping shut the novel he had been reading before taking a glance at his watch. "It's precisely 2AM."

It had never occurred to her that they had been in the library for that long, she had been scribbling frantically, occasionally stopping to ask him a question to which he would reply to thoroughly. In fact, to her surprise he had behaved completely professionally tonight throwing her off guard. He had even gone out to bring them both coffees whilst she worked on her essay.

"I didn't even notice the time."

"I didn't think you had, you were too engrossed with your work, scribbling away with that adorable expression of concentration on your face."

"Shut up," she laughed bumping her shoulder with his as they walked towards the exit of the library.

Stepping into the clear dark night, they were hit by a rush of wind, the streets surrounding them filled with eerie silence. Throughout the whole journey Elena was aware of their proximity, every now and then they would bump shoulders or hands sending tingling sensations all down her spine – there was the relief of not having to feel guilt over her feelings but a part of her thought back to what her father would think, or her mother. How easily she'd let go of her values as a vampire hunter, if anyone found out it could be fatal for either. As they crossed the bridge leading to her street Damon stopped abruptly, grabbing her elbow he drew her towards him until they stood face-to-face breathing heavily. Placing a hand against his chest to steady herself, she felt his heart hammering against his chest rapidly.

"Your heart—" she began before allowing her voice to drift off in mid-sentence.

His eyes flickered with humor as he raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes, Elena. My heart still continues to pump blood through my body despite me being…well you know—dead."

Quickly removing her hand from his chest she stepped away from him consciously. "I'd better get going," she told him awkwardly digging her nails into the palm of her hands in an attempt to remain in control, every nerve in her body was fighting to feel his lips against hers. Pulling her towards him again he secured his hands around her holding her body tightly against his own. "Damon, we can't," she whispered.

"Your boyfriend?" he grumbled knowingly something dark flashing in his eyes.

"Matt and I broke up," she admitted feeling the heavy weight shifting from her shoulders, there—she'd told him.

A look of bewilderment, followed by relief and lastly confusion spread through his eyes. "So what's stopping us?"

"There is no us," she told him pushing him away again, running her hand through her hair she looked at him confliction clear in her eyes. "Damon, you and I would never even work. We're too different. I'm a huntress; do you know what they do in the rare case that a vampire and a hunter get together? Sometimes either or both of them get killed. We can't do this."

He laughed humorlessly dragging his hands down his face. "Can you hear yourself? All you are doing is giving excuses. I have a boyfriend, you're a vampire, I don't know you enough, it's too dangerous. Why don't you _admit _it, Elena!"

"Admit what? That I'm drawn to you? I AM DRAWN TO YOU DAMON SALVATORE! Is that what you wanted to hear, because it doesn't change the facts!" she shouted in frustration.

"No, I knew that already that's not what I meant. Admit that you're scared about what's going on between us," he stepped closer to her taking a hold of her hands she'd tightly balled into fists and holding it against his chest.

"I'm _terrified_! You don't get it Damon, I shouldn't feel this way about you but the more I ignore it the stronger it gets. It consumes me," she breathed hard, attempting to pull her hands from his but when he leaned down to place his lips firmly on hers she didn't stop him, instead she kissed him back harder. Releasing her hands, he wrapped his own around her, pushing them both backwards until they were backed up against the brick wall of the bridge, she in turn placed her hands behind his neck pulling him down towards her. Her legs felt weak and wobbly as she sunk against him kissing him passionately. Lifting her at the waist, he picked her up and placed her so that she was sitting on top of the wall as she in turn wrapped her legs around him the feeling of euphoria bursting through her body. Pulling his mouth from hers they both came up for breath staring at each other for a moment.

"You just can't keep your hands off me can you," he told her, a wicked grin spreading across his face.

Shaking her head with a smile, she tightened her grasp around his neck. "Don't be so cocky, especially when you're a sloppy kisser," she lied biting on her bottom lip.

His eyes turned dark, something dangerous flashing through them. He leaned in towards her, but instead of kissing her lips he nibbled on her ear sending a shiver down her spine. "Take that back," he murmured moving down to kiss her neck slowly tracing kisses all down her collarbone.

"No," she whispered daringly, closing her eyes with pleasure. Suddenly he pulled away from her, flashing her eyes open she saw him stepping backwards to put a small distance between them whilst still being close enough to keep the firm grip on her waist to keep her safe from falling backwards.

"What are you doing?" she laughed attempting to pull him towards her but he shook his head and remained rooted exactly where he was with a smirk across his face. "Okay, I take it back you doofus. Now, kiss me," she giggled beckoning him closer.

For once she didn't care what anybody thought, all logic had left her. All she knew was that she wanted to be right here, kissing Damon with everything she had. Pulling his lips into hers, she allowed herself to forget all her doubts and momentarily everything was perfect.

"Okay, I have to get home now before my dad gets worried," she told him breathlessly after a long while, looking equally as miserable about stopping whatever this was between them as he did.

"I'll walk you back," he gave her a quick kiss before helping her hop down from where she was seated. Unsure of whether or not to hold his hand, she left them limply at her side—she had no idea what the new boundaries between them were but none of that mattered right now. She felt exhilarated and knowing this happiness wasn't going to last for very long she planned on enjoying it for as long as she could. She pulled him in for one last long lingering kiss, as she pulled away he tried to make a grab for her again which she dodged giggling before running into her house. Closing the door, she leaned against it recalling the details of what had just happened, tracing her lips with her index finger she smiled to herself remembering the feeling of his lips against hers. Her eyes flickered to the stairs, the shape of a looming body making her yelp out in surprise. Flicking on the lights, she was greeted by the sight of Caroline staring at her with a deadly expression, her arms crossed against her chest.

"Are you out of your mind?!" she hissed.

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**Authors note:** Double updates have become a casual thing now it appears. I know, I know, I never keep things too happy without complications, but what can I tell you? I'm a sucker for tragic endings. You know what to do: please, please -** revie****w** if you read my Fanfics, it's only fair ;) Thank you to the loyal readers who always leave comments, you know who you are and I'd like to let you know that I'm really grateful and I do take into account what you say. Okay, until next week!


	13. Chapter 13

"It's not what you think," Elena stammered frantically keeping her voice low, unsure if her father was around.

"You mean I didn't just catch you kissing that _monster_?!" her friend snapped her voice mixed with betrayal and hurt. "Don't bother, your father was called out and Jeremy is staying over at a friends' house," she added catching Elena's eyes drifting to the landing upstairs.

Relaxing slightly, she knotted her hands together nervously. "I can explain," she fumbled awkwardly.

"Go on then! Explain it to me Elena, explain how you could throw out everything we believe in for a _vampire_! How you could cheat on your boyfriend, lie to me, your _bestfriend, _and your family! Explain it to me because I don't think I understand!" Caroline had walked down the steps the anger clear in her stance and the way she paced in front of Elena her face contorted with disgust and confusion. She looked at Elena differently, as if she was a stranger she had never met before.

"I didn't mean for it to happen, I swear," she replied lamely feeling her face flush with shame.

"You destroy your life and sever your relationships and you don't even know why?"

"What do you want for me to say huh? **That I'm sorry**? That it will never happen again, that it was a mistake? Well I'm sorry but I can't do that! I am done lying to myself and to everybody else! I'm falling for him, Caroline!" Elena shouted back angrily forcing the words out before she could stop herself, surprising herself in the process. What she had said, had not been planned, it was an uncensored version of what was in her head.

Caroline flinched as if she had been slapped, her mouth gaping open slightly she looked at her friend as if she was an extra-terrestrial "How can you say that?" she whispered in horror.

"Because it's true," Elena said sadly lowering herself slowly to sit on the steps. "I don't expect you to understand Caroline, but Damon is different. He got under my skin, and I know I should feel guilty…or something—but I don't, not anymore," she shrugged.

"What about Matt? You loved Matt."

"I loved and still love Matt, yes but I was never _in _love with him. I started to realize that before I met Damon. Do you remember how I used to read all of those love stories and watch those movies growing up? I fell in love with the idea of being in love, only I started to truly believe that that kind of love didn't exist, that it only happened in fairy tales but I was wrong. It does exist, and I've done everything that I can to fight it but it's useless. Caroline, he makes me feel that way. Damon Salvatore makes me feel that way," Elena whispered unable to believe her own ears, since when had she found the courage to speak these words out loud let alone allow herself to think them.

Silence fell over both of the girls as they stared at each other for several minutes, Caroline looked at Elena helplessly a foreign look crossing over her features before she dashed towards the door.

"Caroline, wait please—"

"NO!" she shouted whirling around to face her tears spilling down her cheeks. "I can't even look at you right now, because I don't know who you are anymore."

"I'm your best friend—" Elena began reaching towards her but Caroline flinched away from her touch.

"No, you're not, because the Elena that I knew would never be falling in love with a vampire. The Elena that I knew would never choose a vampire instead of her family and friends. If your mom could see you right now, she'd be disgusted with you!" she choked out the last words before slamming the door, leaving Elena completely and utterly alone.

Dropping to her knees, Elena began to cry, her shoulders shaking with sobs that shattered through her. Covering her face with her hands, her mind drifted over the argument again replaying all the things she had shouted in the heat of the moment that she had never even realized about herself. Was she truly in love with Damon, she asked herself. She sat there for several minutes before drying her eyes and walking towards the kitchen. A clattering sound made her jump; she turned around her eyes frantically searching the rooms. She felt the hair at the back of her neck stand up, alerting her to the presence of someone else in the house, perhaps her father was home, or Caroline had come back. She had relaxed momentarily when the lights all went out; she suddenly felt a piercing pain in her upper arm. Screaming out in pain, she grasped at her arm feeling the dampness of her blood soaking through her clothes. She ran towards the light switch flicking them on but the power refused to turn on. Squinting in the dark she made out a tall and bulky figure coming towards her, she waited until the person was a few inches away before she raised her knee swiftly knocking it into the offender's abdomen. When she felt them buckle and gasp with pain, she smiled to herself; "Good, they can feel pain," she thought to herself before digging her good elbow into their back. The person grumbled again, the sound of his voice alerting Elena that it was a man she was dealing with. He got up again moving the a shining silver blade towards her chest when she ducked quickly feeling the blade graze her shirt in the slightest. With a swift quick movement she darted behind the person placing an arm around their neck and holding it tightly in place despite their aggressive thrashing until she felt their body go limp. Breathing heavily she scrambled for her mobile phone pulling it out to make an urgent call.

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**Authors note: **Review, review and guesss whaaaaaaaaat? Review :)


	14. Chapter 14

The knock on the door made Elena jump out of her bones her mind operating on overdrive; she quickly yanked the door open breathing out a sigh of relief.

"You just can't stay away from me can you?" he stood there in his leather jacket a relaxed smile playing on his lips as he leaned his shoulder against the door frame. Without a word in reply, she grasped a tight hold of his jacket pulling him into the house and shutting the door behind her. "Well, this is a lot racier than I had expected."

When she failed to return his smile all traces of humor and playfulness left his expression. "What's wrong?" he asked stepping towards her and placing a hand tentatively on her waist, his expression tightened momentarily. "I can smell blood, are you bleeding?!"

Stepping away from his touch, she started walking towards the kitchen. "I'm fine, I've patched it up. Sorry I should have told you over the phone; I wasn't thinking."

She quickly recounted the events of the night right down to the cut electricity which she had later found out to have been shut from the main box outside her house. He listened his eyes widening and hardening. He looked at the body of the large male in his late thirties lying across her kitchen floor, quickly side stepping her, he bent down to check the mans' pulse before turning to give her a long surprised look. "He's still alive?!"

"Well, he's human. I wasn't going to kill him, I just pressed on his coronary artery long enough to deprive his brain of Oxygen so that he fell unconscious. He will be okay in half an hour, you just need to help me get rid of him," she told him tightly crossing her arms tightly across her chest.

Standing himself upright a look of anxiety crossed over his features, Elena didn't remember the last time she'd seen him remotely worried—in fact, she never had. "That means they've found you, Elena. _Dammit_!" he slammed his fist on the kitchen counter in anger making her jump slightly.

"Hey!" she stepped towards him reaching out to touch his face, before letting her hand drop awkwardly to her side again. "I can handle myself, they don't scare me. I just don't understand why they would send a human after me when they know that there's no contest even with my hands tied."

He ran his hands through his hair in frustration looking at her his blue eyes dark with something unreadable. "The aim wasn't to hurt you, they know better than that. They're trying to unnerve you, show you that you're not safe even in your own home. Vampires may not get in, but you're not safe from those under their influence. They will wait you out."

Smiling slowly she shrugged hoping she looked braver than she felt. "Let them bring it, they can give it their best shot. I'll be waiting."

He took two long strides and stood inches away from her, so close that she could feel the heat radiating from his body towards her. He took her face into his hands caressing her cheek. "You don't have to play pretend with me," he told her softly. Self-consciously she flinched away from his touch, Caroline's words ringing freshly in her mind.

He frowned his forehead creasing. "What's wrong? I thought we were past all this."

"We are—we were—it's just that Caroline knows and you should have seen the way she looked at me," she told him averting her gaze and tucking her long hair behind her ear.

His eyes further darkened as a twinge of annoyance passed across his features. "Judgy little thing, your friend."

"She's just following what she believes," she retorted slightly defensively feeling protective over her best friend.

Leaning towards her, he lifted her chin to make her look at him directly in the eye and her heart skipped a beat, his touch electrifying through her body. "And what do you believe?"

She turned her head slightly stepping backwards away from his touch so that she could think clearly. Whenever she was around him it was as if all sense had left her, she felt consumed by her feeling for him, fire igniting through every fibre of her body making her feel more alive than she had ever been in her whole entire life and while the feeling was good—it frightened her to feel this way about anyone, it gave them way too much power over her heart.

"No, no way. We are not doing this, don't push me away. I'm not saying that the initial chase wasn't fun, but we're past this. We're not going to move backwards," he gave her a long look and as her facial features softened he stepped towards her grabbing at her waist and pulling her closer to him. "That's more like it, you and I both know I'm irresistible," he joked but his heart wasn't in it, he looked at her with apprehension and momentarily she could see just how much he cared about her.

Placing her hands around his neck she pulled him towards her inhaling his scent; wood mixed with mint. It was heavenly. "I believe that there's nothing wrong about this," she breathed after a long moment flicking her eyes to his.

Grinning he lifted her, placing her on the kitchen counter. "This is becoming a habit," he told her leaning to brush his lips with hers but before they got any further there was a soft sound from beside them. Groaning, Damon pulled away from her turning to look at the man who had woken up groggily with a scared and a confused expression on his face. "Can't we just ignore him," he grumbled rolling his eyes before turning back to kiss her again.

Giggling she pushed him away, her hand grabbing a fistful of his shirt with a playful smile on her lips. "Not a chance Romeo," she jumped off the counter moving towards the man yelping with surprise as Damon thwacked at her bottom. Turning to face him she pointed her index finger at him, giving what she hoped to be her best disapproving—angry face but failed to keep the smile off her face. What could she say, she was insanely happy despite the circumstances and deep down, at the pit of her stomach she felt guilty for her happiness something constantly reminding her that she was going against everything she had ever been taught.

Ten minutes later, the man was freshly compelled to forget all that had happened that evening and sent home to his family—wherever that was. Damon strolled towards her his expression bad-boy perfection and mischievous.

"Now, where did we leave things?"

Moving backwards away from him she gave a slow smile shaking her head at him. "I was going to sleep, I have to go hand my assignment in first thing tomorrow and we wouldn't want all of our studying efforts from tonight to go to waste."

He groaned loudly looking as miserable as she felt. "Five minutes." He moved extremely fast using his supernatural skills; suddenly he was standing before her pulling her towards him.

"No," she said firmly placing a hand on his chest to keep the distance between them, she knew the moment she got too close to him she would succumb and pull him closer to her.

"Ugh, you're no fun," he told her pulling a comical sad face making her laugh out loud, quickly she planted a firm kiss on his lips before stepping away from his reach. He rolled his eyes before making his way to the door, pulling it open he gave her one last look before disappearing into the dark midnight.

* * *

The moment he left a cold chill of anxiety and fear washed over her, she was home alone she realised and there was nothing stopping the vampires from sending someone else after her. She may be stronger than most humans, whatever the gender, but she was no good asleep and her father had sent her a message stating that he wouldn't be back until the morning. Quickly making her way to her room she pulled out a couple of weapons placing them on her bedside table. There was no way she was going to get any sleep she realised miserably, every minor sound making the hairs at the back of her neck stand up with fear and adrenaline. They'd won she thought angrily. Her she was, feeling unsafe in her own home. A sound downstairs made her jump to her feet; grabbing the first thing she could see which turned out to be a baseball bat. Soundlessly she crept across her room standing behind her bedroom she held her breath and waited, holding the baseball bat above her head ready swing at the intruder. The door to her bedroom creaked open, the moment the figure stepped into her line of vision she swung as hard as she could. Just in time, they ducked, a loud crash filling the room as the metal bat connected with the door.

"WHAT THE HELL!" the intruder yelled in surprise. Switching the lights on she was greeted by the sight of Damon looking at her with his eyes wild with surprise; her mouth gaped open before she helplessly started giggling hysterically tears streaming down her cheeks.

"You should have seen your face," she laughed wiping her face with the back of her hands. His eyes flashed with something dangerous as he grabbed her making her yelp and squirm under his touch as he placed her on the bed and tickled her—which he knew she hated. "I'm sorry," she screamed in between laughter rolling to her side.

"A metal baseball bat, seriously? I thought you weren't planning on killing anyone tonight!"

"Look, a girl has her limits—I was tired and ready for some major business. I didn't care," she admitted looking up at him as he had trapped her body beneath his own.

"That's my girl," he looked at her approvingly using his elbows to prop himself up but she could feel his body touching hers. Her body flushed with desire at his words and she took a sharp intake of breath fighting her urge to pull him down for a kiss.

"What are you doing back here; I thought I'd sent you away."

"Well I figured if you had any intentions of getting any sleep tonight you'd need someone to keep an eye for the big baddies who could be lurking. I know what you're like, your hunters drive won't let you sleep if you feel unsafe," he told her as if it was the most casual thing in the world but inside her heart swelled and a part of her silently cursed him—she didn't need any more reason to fall even more deeply for him, another part of her wished that Caroline could see this side of him and perhaps then she would understand but she knew the truth, her friend would never understand this. It was supposed to be wrong—a hunter and a vampire, but nothing had ever felt more right to her.

"You don't need to stay and keep a lookout," she told him, silently grateful for his offer as he was completely right. She really needed to sleep if she had any intention of concentrating on her lessons before her big exam and the only way she would was if she felt completely safe.

He took a long look at her shaking his head at her. "Shut up," he told her softly moving from on top of her and a pang of disappointment spread through her. "Sleep. Now." He got up and made his way across the room to where the chair was beside her desk; taking a seat he gave her a stern determined look to which she responded to with a roll of an eye and a nod. Pulling herself off her bed, she grabbed her night wear and made her way into the bathroom where she got changed into her shorts and a tank top. Dragging a brush across her wild hair she took a quick look in the mirror shrugging back at her reflection—the girl that stared back at her looked exactly the same as she always had but she felt different—happier than she had been, giddy. What was it about him that made her feel so delirious? Dismissing her thoughts she walked back into the room feeling shy and bare; he looked at her, his eyes darkening and something unreadable crossing his features. She jumped into her bed pulling her duvet over her as she shuffled to lie on her back, staring up at the ceiling.

"Do vampires sleep?" she asked after a moment, intrigued. The thought had never crossed her mind before.

"Yes. Now go to sleep."

"Can they have children?"

"Why? Are you getting ideas?" he replied, she could tell from the tone of his voice that he had a stupid smirk on his face.

Sitting up in her bed, she grabbed a small pillow beside her and hurled it at him as hard as she could, he simply caught it between his hands placing it on his lap. "No," she retorted finally feeling herself blush. "Shut up. Why do you enjoy making things as awkward as possible?"

"Why do you get easily embarrassed?" he asked with a wide smile.

Huffing, she lay back down and rolled on to her side. "You're not supposed to answer a question with a question."

"And you're not supposed to be asking any questions, period. You're supposed to be sleeping."

"I can't sleep," she admitted truthfully, not only was the hunter in her wide awake and alert—her mind also kept drifting back to the argument she had shared with Caroline, her heart heavy with worry that she would end up losing one of the most important people in her life.

She heard him shuffling across the room; he drew the covers beside her bed. Shrugging his jacket and shoes off, he climbed in soundlessly and she didn't protest. He lay on his back staring up at the ceiling but she lay facing him, watching him closely, trying to learn every detail about him.

"Stop staring."

She smiled to herself, but didn't make a single move to look away from him. They lay in the silence for a while neither of them saying anything.

"She loves you…Caroline. She won't stay angry at you forever," he said after a moment.

Her heart stirred in her chest as she stared at him, surprised. "How do you do that?" she asked him softly hating the way her voice trembled. "How do you know exactly what I'm thinking?"

He shifted, turning to lie on his left side so that he was also facing her. "Magic," he smiled his blue eyes shining like a bright light in the dark.

She breathed out heavily letting her mind drift; nobody, not even Matt whom she had known all of her life was able to read her the way he did and the thought scared her slightly. Sometimes, she felt as if she were a book wide open, her emotions all out in display.

He reached out and pulled her closer to him, her head fitting perfectly into the crook of his shoulder. She tensed for a moment before relaxing against him and placing her hand on his chest. She liked the feel of his steady heart beat against the palm of her hand. Feeling brave, she raised her neck and placed a soft, firm kiss on his lips. She felt his heart pummelling more rapidly against her hand and smiled to herself as she lay back down against him.

"What are you smiling at?" he asked his tone genuinely curious.

"Your heart raced when I kissed you—I guess I just love the effect I have on you," she admitted after beat, drawing circles against his chest. She had no idea where this courageous aspect of her had come from; perhaps it was the fact that tonight had been the first time she had realised just how much he cared about her. Up until now, she hadn't been able to read him, but the way he looked at her when he thought she had been hurt suggested to her that he felt about her exactly the way she did about him.

"If only you knew just how much you affect me," he told her his hands softly running through her hair making her eyes drape closer together. "Now, sleep before I admit to something I'll regret," he added softly and those were the last words she heard as she drifted deeper into sleep, feeling more comfortable than she had in a very long time.

If only she knew what was about to come...

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**Authors note:** This actually took quite a long time so I hope you enjoyed it. Do you see how long it is? Do you know what you can do to thank me? Review, review, revieeeeeew and I will love you all until the end of time. Oh, and do enjoy this happy scene before it all goes up in flames :))


	15. Chapter 15

The alarm on the desktop went off forcing Elena out of her deep sleep; groggily she turned to her side reaching to switch the alarm off. She lay there for a while feeling slightly disappointed to find that Damon had disappeared, he had probably left earlier that morning to ensure that they weren't caught by her father she concluded absently. She glanced at the clock, realising how late she was she jumped out of bed throwing on her denim shorts and a white vest before pulling her hair into a high ponytail and running out through the front door.

She ran through the town square towards the bus stop whilst simultaneously trying to slip the assignment she'd grabbed from her desk into her bag. Glancing up, she saw the bus driving away making her scream out in frustration. That's it, she'd missed the bus and there was going to be another one for at least half an hour.

"Dammit! Why today," she cried out to nobody in particular craning her neck upwards to face the sky.

"Speaking to yourself is the first sign of madness you know," the voice was so familiar it felt like home sending a warm feeling all the way through her body. She turned to look at the person she had missed the most in the past few days giving him a slight nervous smile.

"Matt," she breathed glancing up at him unsure of what else to say, he hadn't spoken to her since the night he found out what she had done although she had tried everything to try and reach him.

"Hey," he shuffled his feet awkwardly his hands pulling on the straps of his backpack. "Do you want a lift?" he asked after a moment of silence between the two of them and when she said she did, he gave a curt nod before strolling towards the car park deepening the ache inside of her. When she had confessed to him she hadn't only lost her boyfriend, she had also lost a big part of her; her best friend, her other half which is what Matt would always be. Being in his presence was so familiar to her it was like second nature, it wasn't forced – it just was.

Jumping into the passenger seat they drove silently an unnatural awkward aura surrounding them for the first time in their lives. Elena chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully racking her brains for a conversation starter before she gave up and turned to face him in her seat.

"I hate this, Matt. I know I've made a pretty big mistake, I know I hurt you in a way that I'll never be able to forgive myself for but please_, this can't be us_. I've missed you so much. I don't want to lose you. Do you think that there's any way that we can go back to at least being friends?" she held her breath as she watched him clench and unclench his jaw as he continued to stare at the road ahead of him his fingers tightening around the steering wheel, turning his knuckles white.

"I don't know," was all he said without turning to face her. Disappointment washed all over her as she bit down hard on her bottom lip before turning to face the road up ahead again. What had she expected? What she had done was unforgettable and she would forever hate herself for that, yet somehow she had made the very same mistake with Caroline – choosing a vampire over those she had loved all of her life and in response destroying the relationship she had with them.

The rest of the journey was filled by eerie silence the only sound coming from the radio. As they reached the gates of the University she let out a slight breath of relief as she couldn't stand this foreign awkwardness between herself and Matt. He parked in his usual spot and they both grabbed their bags heading towards the front entrance of the University.

They reached the corridor where they usually separated to head to their lectures, Elena thought back to just how many times they had stood in this exact same spot but how different things had been then, they had always been kissing or holding hands affectionately, but they now stood a substantial amount of distance between them but what was worse was the invisible million miles between them separating them completely.

"Bye," she smiled hesitantly before making a bee-line towards the staircase leading to history.

"Elena!" she stopped in her tracks automatically holding her breath before slowly turning around to face Matt who stood a few feet away looking at her with an unreadable expression. "I've missed you too," was all he said. He smiled momentarily before giving her a quick wave and disappearing into the crowd of students leaving her standing with a slow smile curving her lips. It wasn't an "I forgive you, everything is forgotten," but it was a start and she was going to take it as a small victory.


	16. Chapter 16

Elena got up to pack her bag as she finished her last lesson of the day, she gave the hall one last glance trying to find Caroline in the crowd of students but had no luck. Slinging her bag over her shoulder she attempted to ignore the hollow emptiness and sadness she felt due to the absence of her friend. Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear she left the hall heading towards the front exit of the University when she noticed Damon leaning casually against a wall near the door one of his legs propped up behind him looking incredibly handsome in his black leather jacket and dark jeans. She watched as the girls around him stole appreciate glances to which he appeared to be oblivious to as he casually drummed his fingers against his thigh. As she approached closer to him he looked up his blue eyes finding hers and a slow seductive smile playing on his lips as he pulled himself off the wall. She felt torn as a big part of her was excited and happy to see him whilst the other part of her felt frightened and very self-aware as they could be noticed by anybody, of course most of these people wouldn't know that he was a vampire but regardless, they knew Matt so the word could easily travel back to him and after her breakthrough with him this morning, she didn't want to do anything to jeopardise that.

"What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too, Elena," he retorted but the tone of his voice was light confirming that he wasn't offended.

"Sorry, it's just that—"

"If anybody sees you, you're screwed. Trust me, I know and although I would love to grab you and kiss you right here, right now especially since you're wearing those short shorts—buuuuut I won't. I promise." He took a step closer to her looking down at her with a knowing smirk; he could probably hear her heart beating away like crazy she thought to herself cursing silently. He stood inches away from her, so close that she could smell his familiar scent. She fought the impulsive urge to keep her hands off him the realisation of just how tempted she was to break the rules right here in the open startling her. With a swift movement he moved away starting to walk briskly out of the door throwing her off guard.

She paced after him catching up with his long strides. "Are you purposefully being a tease?"

He turned to give her a long slow smile. "Maybe."

Narrowing her eyes at him momentarily she barged her shoulder into his aggressively. "You're a dick."

"I've been called worse," he mused shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly to which she just shook her head, unable to keep the smile from her lips.

They were about to round a corner towards the car park when he grabbed her and pulled her into a narrow alleyway that was out of sight. She quickly placed her hands on his shoulders to steady herself her breath hitching with surprise.

"We shouldn't," she whispered.

"Why not?"

"Anybody could be walking by," she hissed knowing that the chances of that happening were very slim as they were hidden by a piece of concrete wall placed right outside the opening of this alleyway.

"Live—a—little" he leaned down and kissed her neck between each word making her breathless as if she had just finished running a marathon.

A hot wave of fire shot through her veins making her shudder as she bit on her bottom lip a wave of spontaneity surging through her, in this one crazy moment she didn't care if they were seen. Pressing her body closer towards him she stood on the tips of her toes which enabled her to softly place her lips on his. They kissed gently at first her hands brushing through his midnight black hair as his hands slipped under her shirt and drew circles on her back. Their kiss deepened and became more frantic and hungrier as he pushed himself off the wall and backed her against the opposing one his tongue slipping into her mouth. She bit down on his bottom lip pulling at it with her teeth the way he had done to her when they had kissed for the first time and a soft groan escaped his lips making her smile against his mouth. Pushing herself off him she placed her hands on his chest looking up at him.

"Not bad, Salvatore."

He cocked his head to the side observing her with a twinge of surprise in his eyes.

"What?" she smiled feeling slightly self-aware under his steely blue gaze.

He brushed his hands on her bare thighs making her shiver. "Nothing, you're just different to what I thought initially that's all."

"Meaning?!"

"Meaning just that," he replied mysteriously placing a quick kiss on her lips and tugging on her brown hair slightly.

"Tell me," she huffed narrowing her eyes at him threateningly but when she noticed the way his lips pursed determinedly, she knew there was no way she was going to get him to tell her what he meant by that statement. "Like I said, you're a dick," she finally concluded to which he just responded with a low chuckle before leaning down to kiss her again.

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**Authors note: **Review, review and ummm surprise surprise, review!


	17. Chapter 17

Damon dropped Elena off one street away from where she lived to prevent any chance of them being spotted. She hopped off the car waving him goodbye before rounding the corner towards her street. She walked briskly knowing that she had a stupefied smile plastered on her face but unable to get rid of it. She greeted Mrs Jones politely—an elderly woman from the house opposite of hers who walking towards her.

"Hello sweetheart," she smiled warmly at Elena whom she had known since she was a little girl.

"Mrs Jones, are you are okay."

"I'm fine dear. Although I must ask, your father asked me to keep an eye on the house last night—was that Matt I saw sneaking out at that ungodly hour?"

A rush of blood surged to her face as Elena felt a mixture of embarrassment and horror. She didn't want to but she also had no intentions of correcting her either so she remained silent.

"Oh don't be embarrassed, I just hope that you both behaved in an appropriate manner?" and when she nodded awkwardly the woman smiled at her taking her hand into hers. "Then that's all that matters. Take care now, dear," and with that she continued to walk by leaving Elena flustered and speechless.

* * *

The moment she approached her house she knew something was terribly wrong. She shoved her key into the lock pushing the door open and stepped into the house. The living room table was covered with different weaponry, a pang of panic came over her as her heart began racing in her ribcage and her airways became restricted. Had Caroline told her father? In that moment her father and Jeremy burst into the living room from the basement carrying more weapons with them and greeted her simply with a curt nod.

"What's going on?" she asked her voice stammering as she dropped her bag on the ground with a loud thud.

"There's been a vampire attack," her father explained and she felt a brief sense of relief followed by guilt. Letting the words sink in she walked towards the table shoving a stake into her boot and picking up a cross-bow.

"Who was it?"

"Marcus Johnson and his little daughter—he died but the girl survived, barely."

She didn't recognize the name but felt a surge of anger ripple through her, vampires—taking innocent human lives as if the world was their playground. She took a deep breath closing her eyes momentarily before turning to face her family again.

"Is she okay?"

Her father grabbed the bags they had shoved their weapons into and gave her a weary look. "As okay as she can be, honey but we spoke to her this morning, and at least she knows who did it."

"Great, then we go get them tonight," she shrugged determinedly. Truthfully, she couldn't wait to hunt again as she felt as if she had let them all down by dating a vampire, but if she tried to redeem herself by continuing to be the best hunter that she could be then surely the guilt she felt would ease off. Wouldn't it?

"I knew that bastard was trouble from the moment I laid my eyes on him," Jeremy grumbled heading towards the door.

Elena stopped in her tracks her eyebrows furrowing together in confusion. "Who?"

"Damon Salvatore."

She felt the two words slam through her as if she had been stabbed with a knife in the stomach. She could feel her mouth gaping open but didn't care as horror mixed with dread filled over her. _No, _this was not happening. _No, no no._

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**Authors note: **Things are going to start heading for the flames now, I've kept things happy for a while. Elena chose to be with Damon regardless of who he was but will she remain loyal to him or will she be the one to ultimately drive a stake through her heart? Review, review, review.


	18. Chapter 18

"What did you just say?" Elena whispered shaking her head slowly, unable to comprehend what her brother had just said.

"The vampire that did this thing is Damon Salvatore. Surely you remember that arrogant dick," her brother stopped with his hand on the doorknob waiting for her to realise who he was talking about.

"I remember him," she swallowed heavily feeling the bile rising up her throat. "It's just—are we sure that he did it?" she asked weakly hating how pathetic she sounded but she couldn't believe that what they were saying was true. It couldn't be.

"The girl identified him, honey. It's him," her father chimed in matter of factly and she felt a surge of anger shoot through her.

"And we're just going to take her word for it? She was in shock; she had just watched her dad die! Maybe, just maybe she saw wrong!" she snapped whirling around to look at her dad who looked taken aback his brows furrowing together.

"He's a vampire!" Jeremy shouted back heatedly letting go off the door and walking towards Elena who was shaking her head at him sadly.

"So that means he deserves to die? Because he's a vampire? Jer, you're hurting after mom. I understand but all this hatred is going to eat you up." She watched as her brother stopped in his tracks at the mention of their mother his entire body becoming rigid.

"That's enough," her father said softly his brown eyes etched with the sadness and grief they'd carried ever since their mother had died.

"I'll wait in the car," Jeremy mumbled walking through the door and slamming it behind him making them jump.

Her father walked towards her until he stood in front of her, he tilted her chin upwards whilst brushing his thumb across her cheek affectionately.

"What's going on?" he asked softly his gaze fixated on hers making it hard for her to lie, but there was no way she could tell him the truth either. She wondered if he would be so understanding if he knew that she had been sleeping with the enemy. At the thought she jolted a sudden memory stirring in her mind, filling her with a fragment of hope. Damon had been with her last night which was when the attack had happened, and if he was here then there was no way he would have been able to do the killing.

"What?" her dad asked watching her closely with a perplexed expression.

"What time did it happen?" she asked pulling away from him suddenly her big brown eyes watching him pleadingly. "The attack dad, when did it happen?" she pressed urgently when he gave her a blank look.

"6 AM why—" he started but Elena was already heading for the door.

"I'll meet you in the car, I just need to pop in to see Mrs Jones," she called out and with that she ran through the doors resting her hope on this one piece of information.

….

Elena knocked on the door rapidly glancing at the windows impatiently. _C'mon, c'mon, c'mon _she muttered under her breath shifting her weight from one foot to the other whilst glancing back to see if her dad had finished loading up the car yet. Elena felt her heart hammering so hard against her chest she was sure it would explode through her ribcage at any moment. She had never felt so afraid in her life. Letting out a deep sigh of defeat she slammed her hand against the door once more before leaning against the door so that her forehead was against it. Just as she was about to straighten up and leave, she heard movement behind the door.

"Mrs Jones?" she called out knocking once more.

The door creaked open and out popped out the head of the elderly woman who was wrapped in a towel indicating that she had just came out of a shower.

"Where's the fire dear?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you ma'am, I just wanted to ask you a very important question. What time did you see Matt leaving my house last night?" she asked stumbling over her words in her eagerness to get it out. The woman looked confused momentarily before staring into the distance clearly deep in thought. Elena's heart continued to hammer against her chest as she held her breath waiting for the answer.

"It was around the time I take my medication which was approximately 5.15 AM," she said after a moment giving Elena a warm smile. A wave of nausea washed over her as she came crashing down off a high. Of course, I mean she had been completely stupid to think that it was going to be so easy.

"Why?" Mrs Jones added now concerned.

"No reason, thank you and I'm sorry to have interrupted you."

Elena said her goodbyes and walked back to the car feeling hopeless. He had killed an innocent man, she concluded. She had thought that he had stayed the entire night, but he hadn't. He had left much earlier than he had promised to. She clung to her stomach feeling incredibly stupid and angry.

…

For the entire length of the journey to the Council room where the hunters were to meet Elena sat in silence her mind working on over-drive. The sick feeling at the pit of her stomach as if she had been punched in the gut remained and she felt at a loss, Damon could have done this and if the little girl identified him to be the killer then he had to be. She shook the thoughts out of her mind and stared out of the car window absently whilst chewing on her nails nervously. The atmosphere in the car was tense, her father drove in silence his jaw clenching and unclenching whilst Jeremy fiddled around with the weapons in his lap. For a moment she let her mind wonder about what would happen to him if they caught him – well when they caught him. They would kill him of course she thought bitterly, there was no option number two. She wondered if she would be capable of delivering the killing blow and if she would do it if she were to be assigned the case.

"You okay back there?" her father called out and she turned to catch his concerned frown in the rear view mirror.

She attempted to smile back at him reassuringly but it felt flat and never reached her eyes. "I'm fine," she lied and whilst her father nodded, she was certain that he didn't believe her. Occasionally she would catch a glimpse at him staring at her in wonder as if trying to read her and she would try to look deep in thought. There would be a reasonable explanation for what had happened she thought but even she didn't believe herself.

Elena walked into the room full of hunters among with her father and brother feeling as if she was having an out-of body experience. She listened, dazed as they recounted the events of what had allegedly happened a part of her still refusing to believe that this was all happening. Elena's eyes scanned the room of hunters who were gathered around the table prepared to discuss how to tackle the case and when to kill the vampire in question. Her eyes fell on Caroline whom she hadn't noticed up until now; she wore black skinny jeans, her black leather hunter boots that reached her knee with stakes tucked into the pocket compartment, her blonde hair was pulled tightly back. An acute sense of nausea passed over Elena as she remembered how on a normal occasion she would be standing beside her friend wearing matching clothing, chattering among themselves about the excitement of the possibility that they may be given the case. In that moment, Caroline must have sensed eyes on her because she turned to catch Elena's gaze her expression turning into one of concern mixed with sympathy but instead of feeling reassured Elena felt a twinge of anger – she didn't need pity. As the hunters became discussing various details of the event they brought up the image of the victim. Elena stumbled backwards covering her mouth to stifle a gasp; she stared horrified at the image on the screen. It was the man from the night before, the one who had been compelled to enter her house, the one she had sent away healthy and confused. In the image he was wearing similar clothes but his body had been mauled badly. Gagging, she turned away from the image struggling to gasp for air as her airways became restricted.

"I need fresh air," she mumbled to her father before stumbling outside and closing the door behind her. She bent down placing her hands on her knees and began to take deep breaths in to calm herself down. _This wasn't happening _she told herself as she was overwhelmed by a million different emotions. Standing upright she walked over to the far wall of the building and leaning against it she slid down until she was sitting cross legged on the cold ground feeling the coolness of the concrete and brick against her body. Closing her eyes, she let her mind drift off elsewhere away from this crazy town, away from this insanity that had become her life. She imagined herself as the girl she used to be, not the girl she had become—not the girl who would fall for vampires. The sound of the door clinking open brought her back to the present, her eyes springing open to see Caroline walking towards her with her hands knitted together in front of her.

"If you're here to tell me I told you so don't bother," Elena whispered leaning her head back against the wall and closing her eyes in an attempt to shut the rest of the world out. She was greeted by silence aside from the sound of movement beside her. Opening her eyes she turned to look at Caroline who had taken a seat on the ground beside her. Silence filled the air aside from rustling of the trees and the sound of a few dogs barking in the distance.

"Who's been assigned to kill him?" Elena whispered after a moment as she clenched her jaw in anger and frustration

"Elena—"

"I need to _know_," she said firmly brushing the back of her hand against her cheeks.

"I honestly don't know. I walked out after you, remember?" Caroline replied tentatively.

"I'm sorry Caroline, I screwed it all up."

Caroline shuffled closer to Elena taking her hand into hers and clasping it strongly. "Don't. It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is. My dad was relying on me to keep a lookout for what the vampires are doing because he's so grief ridden he busies himself up at work so much so that he barely has time to sleep let alone do anything else. He left me in charge. I was supposed to sort everything else out and _I let him down_!" she said tugging at her hair as she said the final part. She didn't feel like crying—she felt numb.

"Hey—" Caroline pulled her closer towards her but Elena pulled away struggling against her best friends grasp.

"I don't even know who I am," she let out a bitter laugh shaking her head incredulously. "I was so stupid, I betrayed everything I believed in and for what? For who? I'm the reason that guy is dead. I'm the reason a little girl is left fatherless!" she continued her voice raising and becoming more hysteric with each word as she still moved away from Caroline's touch.

"I've let her down Caroline," her voice broke as she punched out at the concrete wall in frustration and anger her knuckles bleeding where she grazed her skin. "I've let mum down, she was the one person who believed in me no matter what and I've destroyed her legacy. He deserves to die. I hope Damon di—" she finally stopped struggling and allowed her body to slam into Caroline's as a loud sob escaped her lips, Caroline pulled her into her arms wrapping her hands tightly against Elena's small body.

"Shhhh, it's not your fault," Caroline whispered as a singular tear escaping her eyes and leaving a damp trail down her skin.

* * *

**Author's note:** It's been too long guys, I'm sorry. Lost inspiration with this story for a while but I figured I owed it to those who read it to at least complete it so this is kind of a long update to try and make up for it. Do leave reviews pleeeeaseeee, thanks guys :))


	19. Chapter 19

**Authors thoughts:** Sorry for a late update I'm a terrible human being, I just keep losing inspiration. We are continuing from where we were in the last chapter but it's evening and she's at home. It's super difficult writing chapters without Damon ~le cries. Enjoy

* * *

Elena lay in her bed facing the ceiling with her hands neatly tucked behind her neck her mind wandering relentlessly. She felt physically and emotionally exhausted. Closing her eyes firmly she released a deep breath wishing for the days when life was simpler and things were easier, the days when her mother was around constantly nagging at her and when whether or not Matt would ask her out on a date was the biggest worry in her life. She wondered what her mother would think of her now that she was fraternising with the enemy, she wondered if under different circumstances her mother would like Damon—most probably not she concluded to herself an absent smile tugging at the corner of her lips, her mother would see straight through the incredibly handsome looks and the arrogant attitude. The sound of her phone ringing brought her thoughts back to the present as she sat up soberly remembering the chaos she had found herself in the middle of. This wasn't an alternate universe where Damon was a human boy with a bad attitude, this was real life and he was a vampire. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand she picked up her phone gingerly a breath of relief mixed with a twinge of disappointment shooting through her when she read the caller ID. A part of her had hoped for it to be Damon she realised furious with herself, whilst the other part of her had wanted for it to be anyone but him.

"Hey,"

"Elena, I hope I didn't wake you…"Caroline replied the anxiety in her voice evident.

"I'm fine honest, you don't need to worry about me Care, I'll be okay," she lied hoping she sounded convincing.

Silence filled the other line and she momentarily wondered if the phone had cut off.

"That's not why I'm calling you," a brief pause. "Well of course I wanted to make sure that you were okay, you seemed really beat down but I know you're a tough cookie. You can take anything," her friend babbled nervously causing Elena's pulse to spike, something was wrong.

"_Caroline_! What's going on?" she hated how awfully pained and terrified she sounded but couldn't help it anyway.

"It's Damon."

Elena felt a tide of nausea wash over her despite herself whilst a million different thoughts swarmed through her mind as she waited for Caroline to continue.

"We've been assigned his case," she added after a moment sounding cautious.

"_Oh_." That was all Elena managed to get out but she felt her chest tighten and her hands begin to tremble.

They both remained silent for a while.

"I'm so sorry. I just thought you deserved to know…"

Digging her hands into the palm of her hand she released a tiny breath closing her eyes firmly shut the way she used to as a child when she hoped to become invisible for a while.

"Caroline it's fine. _I'm fine._"

"I wish I could reject the case but then mom and dad would start asking—"

"I said I'm fine!" she snapped cutting her off a lot harsher than she had intended. "I'm sorry," she added quickly dragging her hands through her hair.

"Do you…" Caroline let the words drift off awkwardly the unasked question hanging between them like thick smoke in the air. "You know…love him?"

"No." The words tumbled out of her mouth so fast it stilled them both into silence.

"I'm sorry regardless. Look, I've got to go now but I'll speak to you tomorrow?"

Elena bit on her lip her lip quivering to her dismay but she knew she had to know or it would destroy her. "When will it happen?"

"Elena, you know I can't tell you that."

"Caroline, please!"

A conflicted silence.

"Dawn."

She shot to her feet gripping the phone firmly her heart shattering against her chest, her airways felt constricted and she felt lightheaded. She glanced at the clock on her wall that read 9PM.

"What? That's so soon, that's too soon!"

"I know but the longer we leave it the greater the chance he becomes expectant of our arrival. This way, at least we have the element of surprise. Look, I really have to go and—" she stopped mid-sentence but she needn't because Elena knew precisely what she had to go and do. She had to go and prepare for the hunt.

"Thanks for letting me know Care."

Elena hung up and then flung the phone at the wall angrily letting out a scream in frustration. She dragged down her face and sat down on her bed clenching her hands into fists whilst flares of anger shot through her. She felt angry at Damon, at the world but most of all she felt furious with herself because she should have known better. In fact, no she _had _known better but had chosen to ignore her instincts which had been telling her to run in the opposite direction from the moment she had met him. Then there was him, he had allowed for her to feel something for him but it didn't make sense. What had been his endgame? To have some fun? To get an insight to how the hunters worked? Her mind reeled with unanswered questions that were driving her insane.

None of it mattered anyway. He would be dead by dawn. Damon Salvatore, that annoyingly arrogant vampire who had driven her insane with frustration dead. Her eyes drifted to her window sill as she remembered the day he had convinced her jump out of it and how he'd promised to catch her. She had been sceptical but he had caught her just as he'd promised. She remembered the palpations she had gotten in her chest whenever she was in his proximity—she shook her head cutting the thoughts short. She wouldn't do this to herself; she wouldn't torture herself over something he had done. He deserved to die and she knew that. He had written his fate the moment he had taken things into his own hands, she was just glad that it would all be over and done with by tomorrow she thought to herself a singular tear escaping her eyes.

_He deserved to die._

_He deserved to die._

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**Update: **I've left this story untouched for weeks & want to check is anyone actually reading this? I've had a new idea so I'm tempted to ditch this one but I thought I'd carry on in case anyone is reading it, if you are please let me know.

**Author's notes: **Poor Elena is a bit bipolar when it comes to her feelings for Damon, she honestly doesn't know what she feels for him. Is she attracted to him? DUH. Does she love him? Um...

Please leave reviews as some of you probably have realised by now it's my source of motivation to write another chapter & so on. Those of you who have continuously left me comments from day one (they come straight through to my phone) thank you, you are awesome and I'm sure you know who you are.

I'll stop rambling now, but please do review :))


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